What does "double precision floating point number" mean?

Question

found this term in Variable section of JavaScript.

Answer 1

Double precision floating point number is a floating point number that uses twice as many bits as a regular or single precision floating point number.

This provides greater precision and greater range of magnitudes.

More info: The term double precision is something of a misnomer because the precision is not really double.
The word double derives from the fact that a double-precision number uses twice as many bits as a regular floating-point number.
For example, if a single-precision number requires 32 bits, its double-precision counterpart will be 64 bits long.

The extra bits increase not only the precision but also the range of magnitudes that can be represented.
The exact amount by which the precision and range of magnitudes are increased depends on what format the program is using to represent floating-point values.
Most computers use a standard format known as the IEEE floating-point format.

Source : http://stackoverflow.com/questions/801117/whats-the-difference-between-a-single-precision-and-double-precision-floating-p

Answer 2

In plain language, it's has more decimal points trailing behind. it varies among different systems, but for information purposes, knowing they're more precise is good enough. Thanks.