The absolute value of a number is a measure of how far that number is from zero, regardless of its direction on the number line. In simple terms, it is the non-negative value of a number.
For example, the absolute value of 16 is simply 16, since it is already a positive number. We can express this mathematically as:
|16| = 16
To put it into perspective, if we take a negative number, like -16, the absolute value would still be 16 because it represents the distance from zero. So, the absolute value can always be thought of as the positive version of any number.