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number

/ˈnəmbər/

/ˈnəmbə/

Other forms: numbers; numbered; numbering

When you consider any amount or measurement, you use a number, like 1, 2, 3, 75, or 998,837,211.

This math-y word has many uses. Playing the numbers is an illegal form of gambling, and number crunchers are accountants. If you're looking out for number one, you're thinking of yourself. When you number something, you're counting it. A number is a song in a musical or concert. If someone "has your number," they know you well. Getting someone's number also means getting their phone number. If your days are numbered, it means you know you're going to die soon.

Definitions of number
  1. noun
    a concept of quantity involving zero and units
    “every number has a unique position in the sequence”
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    types:
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    arity
    the number of arguments that a function can take
    co-ordinate, coordinate
    a number that identifies a position relative to an axis
    folio, page number, pagination, paging
    the system of numbering pages
    decimal
    a number in the decimal system
    constant
    a number representing a quantity assumed to have a fixed value in a specified mathematical context
    oxidation number, oxidation state
    the degree of oxidation of an atom or ion or molecule; for simple atoms or ions the oxidation number is equal to the ionic charge
    cardinality
    (mathematics) the number of elements in a set or group (considered as a property of that grouping)
    count
    the total number counted
    factor
    any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when multiplied together
    Fibonacci number
    a number in the Fibonacci sequence
    prime, prime quantity
    a number that has no factor but itself and 1
    composite number
    an integer that is divisible without remainder by at least one positive integer other than itself and one
    score
    a number that expresses the accomplishment of a team or an individual in a game or contest
    record
    the number of wins versus losses and ties a team has had
    compound number
    a quantity expressed in two different units
    no., ordinal, ordinal number
    the number designating place in an ordered sequence
    cardinal, cardinal number
    the number of elements in a mathematical set; denotes a quantity but not the order
    base, radix
    (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place
    floating-point number
    a number represented in floating-point notation
    fixed-point number
    a number represented in fixed-point notation
    atomic number
    the order of an element in Mendeleyev's table of the elements; equal to the number of protons in the nucleus or electrons in the neutral state of an atom of an element
    baryon number
    a number equal to the difference between the number of baryons and the number of antibaryons in any subatomic structure; it is conserved in all types of particle interactions
    quota
    a prescribed number
    linage, lineage
    the number of lines in a piece of printed material
    natural number
    the number 1 and any other number obtained by adding 1 to it repeatedly
    integer, whole number
    any of the natural numbers or their negatives or zero
    addend
    a number that is added to another number (the augend)
    augend
    a number to which another number (the addend) is added
    minuend
    the number from which the subtrahend is subtracted
    subtrahend
    the number to be subtracted from the minuend
    difference, remainder
    the number that remains after subtraction; the number that when added to the subtrahend gives the minuend
    complex number, complex quantity, imaginary, imaginary number
    (mathematics) a number of the form a+bi where a and b are real numbers and i is the square root of -1
    second power, square
    the product of two equal terms
    cube, third power
    the product of three equal terms
    biquadrate, biquadratic, fourth power, quartic
    an algebraic equation of the fourth degree
    root
    a number that, when multiplied by itself some number of times, equals a given number
    dividend
    a number to be divided by another number
    divisor
    the number by which a dividend is divided
    quotient
    the number obtained by division
    remainder
    the part of the dividend that is left over when the dividend is not evenly divisible by the divisor
    multiplier, multiplier factor
    the number by which a multiplicand is multiplied
    multiplicand
    the number that is multiplied by the multiplier
    bowling score
    the score in a bowling match
    football score
    the score in a football game
    baseball score
    the score of a baseball game
    basketball score
    the score in a basketball game
    Cartesian coordinate
    one of the coordinates in a system of coordinates that locates a point on a plane or in space by its distance from two lines or three planes respectively; the two lines or the intersections of the three planes are the coordinate axes
    polar coordinate
    either of two values that locate a point on a plane by its distance from a fixed pole and its angle from a fixed line passing through the pole
    characteristic
    the integer part (positive or negative) of the representation of a logarithm; in the expression log 643 = 2.808 the characteristic is 2
    deflator
    a statistical factor designed to remove the effect of inflation; inflation adjusted variables are in constant dollars
    balance
    the difference between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account
    Avogadro number, Avogadro's number
    the number of molecules in a mole of a substance (approximately 602,250,000,000,000,000,000,000)
    Boltzmann's constant
    constant used in the calculation of the ideal gas constant
    coefficient
    a constant number that serves as a measure of some property or characteristic
    cosmological constant
    an arbitrary constant in the equations of general relativity theory
    equilibrium constant
    (chemistry) the ratio of concentrations when equilibrium is reached in a reversible reaction (when the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction)
    R, gas constant, universal gas constant
    (physics) the universal constant in the gas equation: pressure times volume = R times temperature; equal to 8.3143 joules per kelvin per mole
    G, constant of gravitation, gravitational constant, universal gravitational constant
    (physics) the universal constant relating force to mass and distance in Newton's law of gravitation
    Hubble constant, Hubble parameter, Hubble's constant, Hubble's parameter
    (cosmology) the ratio of the speed of recession of a galaxy (due to the expansion of the universe) to its distance from the observer; the Hubble constant is not actually a constant, but is regarded as measuring the expansion rate today
    ionic charge
    the charge on an ion is equal to a constant charge e multiplied by an integer from 1 to 15
    complement
    a complete number or quantity
    blood count
    the number of red and white corpuscles in a blood sample
    body count
    a count of troops killed in an operation or time period
    circulation
    number of copies of a newspaper or magazine that are sold
    circulation
    (library science) the count of books that are loaned by a library over a specified period
    head count, headcount
    number of people in a particular group
    pollen count
    the number of pollen grains (usually ragweed) in a standard volume of air over a twenty-four hour period and a specified time and place
    sperm count
    the number of sperm in an ejaculate
    conversion factor
    factor by which a quantity that is expressed in one set of units must be multiplied in order to convert it into another set of units
    constant of proportionality, factor of proportionality
    the constant value of the ratio of two proportional quantities x and y; usually written y = kx, where k is the factor of proportionality
    prime number
    an integer that has no integral factors but itself and 1
    stroke
    (golf) the unit of scoring in golf is the act of hitting the ball with a club
    birdie
    (golf) a score of one stroke under par on a hole
    bogey
    (golf) a score of one stroke over par on a hole
    deficit
    (sports) the score by which a team or individual is losing
    double-bogey
    (golf) a score of two strokes over par for a hole
    duck, duck's egg
    (cricket) a score of nothing by a batsman
    eagle
    (golf) a score of two strokes under par on a hole
    double eagle
    (golf) a score of three strokes under par on a hole
    game
    (games) the score at a particular point or the score needed to win
    lead
    (sports) the score by which a team or individual is winning
    love
    a score of zero in tennis or squash
    match
    the score needed to win a match
    par
    (golf) the standard number of strokes set for each hole on a golf course, or for the entire course
    first, number 1, number one
    the first element in a countable series
    absolute frequency, frequency
    the number of observations in a given statistical category
    googol
    a cardinal number represented as 1 followed by 100 zeros (ten raised to the power of a hundred)
    googolplex
    a cardinal number represented as 1 followed by a googol of zeros (ten raised to the power of a googol)
    magic number
    the atomic number of an extra stable strongly bound atomic nucleus: 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82 or 126
    complex conjugate
    either of two complex numbers whose real parts are identical and whose imaginary parts differ only in sign
    real, real number
    any rational or irrational number
    pure imaginary number
    an imaginary number of the form a+bi where a is 0
    square root
    a number that when multiplied by itself equals a given number
    cube root
    a number that when multiplied three times equals a given number
    numerator
    the dividend of a fraction
    denominator
    the divisor of a fraction
    divisor, factor
    one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another integer
    scale factor
    a number used as a multiplier in scaling
    aliquot, aliquot part
    an integer that is an exact divisor of some quantity
    aliquant, aliquant part
    an integer that is not an exact divisor of some quantity
    common multiple
    an integer that is a multiple of two or more other integers
    modulus
    an integer that can be divided without remainder into the difference between two other integers
    digit, figure
    one of the elements that collectively form a system of numeration
    large integer
    an integer equal to or greater than ten
    double digit
    a two-digit integer; from 10 to 99
    population
    the number of inhabitants (either the total number or the number of a particular race or class) in a given place (country or city etc.)
    c, light speed, speed of light
    the speed at which light travels in a vacuum; the constancy and universality of the speed of light is recognized by defining it to be exactly 299,792,458 meters per second
    type of:
    definite quantity
    a specific measure of amount
  2. noun
    the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
    “he had a number of chores to do”
    “the number of parameters is small”
    synonyms: figure
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    multiplicity, numerosity, numerousness
    a large number
    preponderance, prevalence
    a superiority in numbers or amount
    countlessness, innumerableness
    a number beyond counting
    bulk, majority
    the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part
    minority
    being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts
    fewness
    the quality of being small in number
    roundness
    the quality of being round numbers
    multitudinousness
    a very large number (especially of people)
    type of:
    amount
    the relative magnitude of something with reference to a criterion
  3. noun
    a symbol used to represent a number
    synonyms: numeral
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    types:
    Arabic numeral, Hindu numeral, Hindu-Arabic numeral
    one of the symbols 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0
    Roman numeral
    a symbol in the old Roman notation; I,V,X,L,C,D,M represent 1,5,10,50,100,500,1000 respectively in Arabic notation
    antilog, antilogarithm
    the number of which a given number is the logarithm
    type of:
    symbol
    an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance
  4. verb
    add up in number or quantity
    synonyms: add up, amount, come, total
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    work out
    be calculated
    outnumber
    be larger in number
    average, average out
    amount to or come to an average, without loss or gain
    make
    add up to
    type of:
    be
    have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
  5. verb
    enumerate
    “We must number the names of the great mathematicians”
    synonyms: list
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    itemise, itemize
    place on a list of items
    type of:
    identify, name
    give the name or identifying characteristics of; refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property
  6. verb
    give numbers to
    “You should number the pages of the thesis”
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    foliate, page, paginate
    number the pages of a book or manuscript
    type of:
    denominate, designate
    assign a name or title to
  7. verb
    determine the number or amount of
    synonyms: count, enumerate, numerate
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    recount
    count again
    miscount
    count wrongly
    census
    conduct a census
    add, add together, add up, sum, sum up, summate, tally, tot, tot up, total, tote up
    determine the sum of
    type of:
    ascertain, determine, find, find out
    establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study
  8. verb
    put into a group
    synonyms: count
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    type of:
    assort, class, classify, separate, sort, sort out
    arrange or order by classes or categories
  9. verb
    place a limit on the number of
    synonyms: keep down
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    type of:
    circumscribe, confine, limit
    restrict or confine
  10. noun
    a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program
    “it was one of the best numbers he ever did”
    synonyms: act, bit, routine, turn
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    types:
    show-stopper, showstopper, stopper
    an act so striking or impressive that the show must be delayed until the audience quiets down
    type of:
    performance, public presentation
    a dramatic or musical entertainment
  11. noun
    one of a series published periodically
    synonyms: issue
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    types:
    edition
    an issue of a newspaper
    extra
    an additional edition of a newspaper (usually to report a crisis)
    type of:
    periodical
    a publication that appears at fixed intervals
  12. noun
    a numeral or string of numerals that is used for identification
    “she refused to give them her Social Security number
    synonyms: identification number
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    ABA transit number, BIN, bank identification number
    an identification number consisting of a two-part code assigned to banks and savings associations; the first part shows the location and the second identifies the bank itself
    license number, registration number
    the number on the license plate that identifies the car that bears it
    Social Security number
    the number of a particular individual's Social Security account
    PIN, PIN number, personal identification number
    a number you choose and use to gain access to various accounts
    type of:
    positive identification
    evidence proving that you are who you say you are; evidence establishing that you are among the group of people already known to the system; recognition by the system leads to acceptance
  13. noun
    the number is used in calling a particular telephone
    “he has an unlisted number
    synonyms: phone number, telephone number
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    type of:
    sign, signal, signaling
    any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
  14. noun
    a clothing measurement
    “a number 13 shoe”
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    type of:
    size
    the property resulting from being one of a series of graduated measurements (as of clothing)
  15. noun
    a select company of people
    “I hope to become one of their number before I die”
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    type of:
    company
    a social gathering of guests or companions
  16. noun
    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)
    “in English the subject and the verb must agree in number
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    type of:
    grammatical category, syntactic category
    (grammar) a category of words having the same grammatical properties
  17. noun
    an item of merchandise offered for sale
    “she preferred the black nylon number
    “this sweater is an all-wool number
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    type of:
    merchandise, product, ware
    commodities offered for sale
Pronunciation
US

/ˈnəmbər/

UK

/ˈnəmbə/

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