It means that if you had a measuring cup that '1/8th ' was printed on, --it would take 7(seven) of these to compare to 7/8th measure (of a cup) ie:7 eighths.OR if you had a measuring cup, divided into 8(eight) segments,and you used (or filled) 7 of these-you would have 7/8ths.It only depends on how the container is divided, ie:a pizza with 8 pieces can be divided by 8ths.A pizza with 12 pieces would then be divided into 12ths.etc.etc.etc