26984 words

number

33 definitions • 51 examples
1
(a sign or symbol representing) a unit that forms part of the system of counting and calculating:

Examples:

25, 300, and a billion are all numbers.
She's very good with numbers (= good at adding, subtracting, etc.).
2
a number that is used to mark a particular example of something:

Examples:

They live at number 34 Orchard Street.
Please write your credit card number on this form.
What's our flight number?
3
a phone number:

Examples:

I gave him my number.
4
an amount or total:

Examples:

number of The number of people killed in traffic accidents fell last month.
There has been an increasing number of cases of the disease.
A small number of children are educated at home.
A large number of invitations has been sent.
in number Letters of complaint were surprisingly few in number (= there were not many of them).
5
a number of a particular description:

Examples:

6
several of a particular type of thing:

Examples:

Headaches can be caused by a number of things.
7
a group of people:

Examples:

of your number On the trip, one of our number fell ill.
8

Examples:

number of Do you have last week's number of the New Yorker?
back number of He's got all the back numbers (= previous copies) of the magazine.
9
a piece of clothing, especially a dress, that you admire:

Examples:

She was wearing a stylish Dior number.
10
a person with a particular characteristic:

Examples:

He's a real sexy number, don't you think?
11
a short tune or song:

Examples:

12
something that is often said:

Examples:

He tried the usual/that old number about how his wife didn't understand him.
13
to give something a number in a series and usually to write this number on it:

Examples:

All the folders have been carefully numbered and filed away.
number something from something to something Number the pages from one to ten.
14
If people or things number a particular amount, there are this many of them:

Examples:

After the hurricane the homeless numbered over 200,000.
15
a unit or its symbol that forms part of a system of counting and calculating, and that represents an amount or position in a series:

Examples:

You can write numbers in words, such as six, seven, and eight, or with symbols, such as 6, 7, and 8.
16
A number is also a specific set of symbols in a particular order that represent someone or something:

Examples:

Please write down your Social Security number.
17
A number can also be a position in a series:

Examples:

We’re up to 10 – who has the next number?
18
an amount or total:

Examples:

[ C ] A large number of tickets were sold almost immediately.
[ C ] Large numbers of people (= A lot of people) crowded the streets.
[ U ] Quite a number of (= Many) cases of the flu have been reported already.
19
A number of things is several of them:

Examples:

[ U ] There were a number of causes for the accident.
20
Any number of things is a lot of them:

Examples:

[ U ] He’d already heard any number of excuses.
21
the forms of words, esp. nouns, pronouns, and verbs, that show whether they are singular or plural
22
a song, dance, or other part in a performance:

Examples:

The last number she sang was a beautiful, slow ballad.
23
to give a different number to each of two or more things, esp. in a particular order:

Examples:

The software automatically numbers the footnotes.
24
to be (a total):

Examples:

The crowd numbered over 100,000.
25
a set of numbers that marks a particular person or thing as separate from others of the same type:

Examples:

account/invoice/order number Include your account number and the name of the fund in which you want to invest.
contact/telephone/mobile number Please leave a contact number.
26
an amount of people or things:

Examples:

the number of sth The number of employees taking legal action over work-related disease is increasing.
the maximum/minimum/total number The total number of people in employment has increased by more than 234,000 (16.1%).
a large/record number
a small/limited number
27
several things, reasons, people, etc.:

Examples:

There are a number of factors currently influencing stock-price fluctuations.
28
the information in a company's accounts that shows its financial results and position:

Examples:

Citigroup described the supermarket's numbers as strong and solid.
29
used to talk about how many people are involved in something:
30

Examples:

The company culture drove employees to make the numbers without much concern for how they did it.
31
to examine the details of a particular financial situation, usually in order to make a decision about it:

Examples:

She ran the numbers on her mortgage and realized that refinancing was the right thing to do.
32
to give something a number in a series:

Examples:

Documents filed under the Act must be numbered.
33
if people or things number 100, 1 million, etc., there are that number of them:

Examples:

number in the hundreds/thousands/millions, etc. Their fan base numbers in the tens of millions worldwide.

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