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Merriam-Webster traces "lowest common denominator" to 1854 and "least common denominator" to 1851. It is therefore quite interesting that the earliest matches for "lowest common denominator" in an Elephind newspaper database search use the term figuratively, despite appearing within twenty years of its mathematical origin.
11. It depends on the dictionary. Some, perhaps most, place the most common use of the word first. The Oxford English Dictionary, 'the definitive record of the English language', places its definitions in the order in which each word is first used. That is to say, the earliest known meanings are given first.
[Mathematical background: In mathematics, there are two related concepts: the greatest/highest common divisor/factor of two integers, say 15 and 24, is the greatest factor common to both, in this case 3. (Note that 3 is lower than 15 and 24.) The lowest common multiple of the integers is the smallest multiple common to both; in this case 120 ...
A denominator of the current answers (mine included) are all attempts to help OP. Denominator definition (non-mathematical): noun. A common trait or characteristic. An average level or standard. An example of the first definition can be found in the first sentence. An example of the second definition can be found in the definition link.
I don't know whether there's any easy way to tell just by looking at the dictionary. Dictionaries sometimes put the etymologically first meaning first, rather than the most common meaning. For example, in Merriam-Webster's definition of falcoln, the second definition is the only one in use today, even among falconers. –
2 : MANY, MANIFOLD multiple achievements: He suffered multiple injuries in the accident. We could stop there, but we can do better. "Multiple," many authorities and kibitzers contend, is best used to describe separation, repetition, or division from a whole. Most of Merriam-Webster's definition carry this idea of repetition.
A person capable of seeing a situation from multiple perspectives might be referred to as schizophrenic, using the word in its slang sense “Behaving as if one has more than one personality”. However, this is not necessarily a “better way to get this point across” vs phrases like “able to look at the big picture from various viewpoints ...
Efforts have been made to formalize or structure the decision-making process by carefully analyzing pros and cons, or costs and benefits, of alternatives, including both current and future consequences. Often the pros and cons are not reducible to a common measurement. Definition of decision (Entry 1 of 2)
Lexical items (on at least one use of the term) are individuated by syntactic category (among other things). Thus, cook (qua noun) is taken to be a distinct lexical item from cook (qua verb). Drastically different (and etymologically unrelated) meaning is also a criterion for distinctness of lexical items.
The essential feature is the difference is between ‘as much as’ and ‘more than’. ‘As much as’ indicates a ratio; ‘more than’ indicates a difference. ‘More than’ means ‘added to the base’. This essential difference is ignored by those who say that ‘times’ is dominant so that ‘three times as much’ is really the ...