Cos function

This article describes the formula syntax and usage of the COS function in Microsoft Excel.

Description

Returns the cosine of the given angle.

Syntax

COS(number)

The COS function syntax has the following arguments:

• Number    Required. The angle in radians for which you want the cosine.

Remark

If the angle is in degrees, either multiply the angle by PI()/180 or use the RADIANS function to convert the angle to radians.

Example

Copy the example data in the following table, and paste it in cell A1 of a new Excel worksheet. For formulas to show results, select them, press F2, and then press Enter. If you need to, you can adjust the column widths to see all the data.

Formula	Description	Result
=COS(1.047)	Cosine of 1.047 radians	0.5001711
=COS(60*PI()/180)	Cosine of 60 degrees	0.5
=COS(RADIANS(60))	Cosine of 60 degrees	0.5