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In the context of data types in software, "double" typically refers to a floating-point data type that represents decimal numbers with double precision. It is often denoted as "double" or "double precision."

A Double data type is capable of storing larger and more precise floating-point values compared to a single-precision floating-point type, such as [[Float]]. The "double" data type occupies 64 bits of memory (8 bytes) in most programming languages.

The term "double" comes from the fact that it provides twice the precision of a single-precision floating-point type. It can represent a wider range of values and has higher decimal accuracy. The increased precision is achieved by using a larger number of bits to represent the fractional and exponent parts of the number.

In programming, using double-precision, floating-point numbers is beneficial in scenarios where high accuracy and a wide range of values are required. Examples include scientific calculations, financial applications, graphics processing, and simulations. 

Here's a simple example in Python to illustrate the use of the double data type:
 pi = 3.141592653589793238
 radius = 2.5
 area = pi * radius * radius
 print(area)  # Output: 19.634954084936208

In this example, the variable <code>pi</code> is a double-precision floating-point number, and <code>radius</code> is a single-precision floating-point number. When calculating the area of a circle, it is generally preferred to use double precision for higher accuracy, especially in scientific or engineering applications.

It's important to note that the specific implementation and behavior of double-precision floating-point numbers may vary slightly across programming languages and platforms. However, the general concept of providing increased precision and range compared to single precision remains consistent.

See also: [[Number conversions]]
[[Category:Data types]]
[[Category:Value types]]