What does CCXLII mean?

CCXLII is the Roman numeral for 242 — 100 + 100 + 40 + 1 + 1.

How do you write 242 in Roman numerals?

Take the largest value that fits and repeat until nothing is left: C (100), then C (100), then XL (40), then I (1), then I (1). That gives CCXLII.

242 in Roman numerals

CCXLII

Number (1–3,999 for numerals)

Roman numeral

242 is written CCXLII in Roman numerals. That is 5 symbol groups added together, reading left to right from the largest value down.

How it breaks down

CCXLII = 100 + 100 + 40 + 1 + 1 = 242
Group	Value	Subtraction	Running total
C	100	—	100
C	100	—	200
XL	40	L − X	240
I	1	—	241
I	1	—	242

Why the smaller symbol comes first

CCXLII uses subtractive notation in one place: XL means L minus X, or 40. A smaller symbol placed before a larger one is subtracted from it rather than added, which is why IX is nine and not eleven.

Only six such pairs are valid — IV, IX, XL, XC, CD and CM. That restriction is what makes the notation unambiguous: IIII and IC both look like they should work, but neither is standard, and only one spelling of any number is correct.

The symbols

Symbol	Value	Used here
I	1	yes — 2×
V	5	no
X	10	yes — 1×
L	50	yes — 1×
C	100	yes — 2×
D	500	no
M	1,000	no

The same number, other ways

In words: Two hundred forty-two
Roman numeral: CCXLII
Symbol count: 6 characters
Binary: 11110010
Hexadecimal: F2

The numbers either side

Number	Roman numeral
240	CCXL
241	CCXLI
242	CCXLII ←
243	CCXLIII
244	CCXLIV

Common questions

What is 242 in Roman numerals?: 242 is CCXLII.
What does CCXLII mean?: CCXLII is the Roman numeral for 242 — 100 + 100 + 40 + 1 + 1.
How do you write 242 in Roman numerals?: Take the largest value that fits and repeat until nothing is left: C (100), then C (100), then XL (40), then I (1), then I (1). That gives CCXLII.

Sources

Calculated on this page — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked