Make 48 with four 4s

The classic four fours puzzle: build an expression from exactly four 4s that equals 48. 48 can be made with nothing but four 4s, + - × ÷, and parentheses.

Solutions using only + - × ÷

4 × (4 × 4 - 4) = 48
4 × (4 + 4 + 4) = 48

Solutions with square roots, factorials, exponents

4! + 4! × 4 / 4 = 48
4! + 4! + 4 - 4 = 48
4! + 4 × 4! / 4 = 48
4! + 4 + 4! - 4 = 48
4! - 4 + 4 + 4! = 48

…and 1376 more at this tier.

1383 distinct solutions found in total, after removing trivial rearrangements.

How 48 compares

48 has 1,383 distinct solutions across all three tiers — #10 most plentiful of the 95 solvable targets. 2 of them use nothing but + - × ÷. Next door, 47 has 26 solutions and 49 has 33 solutions. The nearest impossible target is 73, 25 away — proven unreachable, not just unsolved.

If 48 went down easily, make 47 with four 4s — 26 solutions, the nearest step up in scarcity.

Make 47 with four 4s · Make 49 with four 4s

The Number Lab

Same idea, different constraints: four 9s, four 4s, or any four digits you like.

Four Nines — the daily puzzle
Four Nines solver — every target, solved
Four Fours — the 1881 original
Four Fours solver — including the impossible five
Make 24 solver — any four digits
Today's 24 — one new hand a day

Got what you came for?

Stay for something you did not search for.

Four Nines — the daily sibling: four 9s, one target, new at midnight
The Reflex Lab — nine ways to measure your hands and memory, none of them polite about it
hand me something weird — a random pick from the directory. Could be the horse.

Read up on the 1881 original, pick another number in the solver, or find more free math games.