It means that the column and row references are locked.

for example, if you typed =SUM(A1,A2) in cell A3, cell A3 would contain
the sum of values in A1 and A2. If you then copied cell A3 and pasted
into cell B3, excel would convert the formula to =SUM(B1,B2).

If instead you typed =SUM($A$1,$A$2), when you pasted the formula the
cell refences would remain the same as they had been locked.

You can also lock either column or row.

Also, highlighting the a cell reference in the formula bar and hitting
F4 will lock the cell refernce for you so you don't have to type the
dollar signs. Hitting F4 repeatedly will toggle through the locking
choices


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adscrim
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