Meaning of number in English
Table of contents
Pronunciation
/ˈnəmbər/US accent
UK accent
to browse different examples of pronunciation.Verb
numberDefinitions
1. add up in number or quantityExamples
- « The bills amounted to $2,000 »
- « The bill came to $2,000 »
Derived terms
- 2. give numbers to
Examples
- « You should number the pages of the thesis »
Derived terms
- 3. enumerate
Examples
- « We must number the names of the great mathematicians »
Derived terms
- 4. put into a group
Examples
- « The academy counts several Nobel Prize winners among its members »
- 5. determine the number or amount of
Examples
- « Can you count the books on your shelf? »
- « Count your change »
Derived terms
- 6. place a limit on the number of
Derived terms
Noun
numberEtymology
Middle English: from Old French nombre (noun), nombrer (verb), from Latin numerusDefinitions
1. the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individualsExamples
- « he had a number of chores to do »
- « the number of parameters is small »
- « the figure was about a thousand »
Derived terms
- 2. a concept of quantity derived from zero and units
Examples
- « every number has a unique position in the sequence »
Derived terms
- 3. a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program
Examples
- « he did his act three times every evening »
- « she had a catchy little routine »
- « it was one of the best numbers he ever did »
Derived terms
- 4. a numeral or string of numerals that is used for identification
Examples
- « she refused to give them her Social Security number »
Derived terms
- 5. the number is used in calling a particular telephone
Examples
- « he has an unlisted number »
- 6. a symbol used to represent a number
Examples
- « he learned to write the numerals before he went to school »
Derived terms
- 7. one of a series published periodically
Examples
- « she found an old issue of the magazine in her dentist's waitingroom »
Derived terms
- 8. a select company of people
Examples
- « I hope to become one of their number before I die »
Derived terms
- 9. the grammatical category for the forms of nouns and pronouns and verbs that are used depending on the number of entities involved (singular or dual or plural)
Examples
- « in English the subject and the verb must agree in number »
- 10. an item of merchandise offered for sale
Examples
- « she preferred the black nylon number »
- « this sweater is an all-wool number »
- 11. a clothing measurement
Examples
- « a number 13 shoe »
Famous quotes
- « I had a number of very strong personalities in my family. My father was a concert flutist, the solo flute for Toscanini. » Francis Ford Coppola
- « For a number of years, I'd been around the kind of people who financed movies and the kind of people who are there to make the deals for movies. But I'd always had this naive idea that everybody wants to make movies as good as they can be, which is stupid. » David Fincher
- « All sorts of computer errors are now turning up. You'd be surprised to know the number of doctors who claim they are treating pregnant men. » Isaac Asimov
- « While I was pleasantly surprised by the relatively high number of jobs created in April, the fact is that job creation during this recovery period has significantly lagged both historical experience in recovery, and the projections of the Bush Administration. » Barney Frank
- « If we ever start communicating with living creatures from other planets, the number one priority is, how are you going to communicate information? Even between different cultures here on Earth, you get into communication problems. » Story Musgrave