number

/ˈnʌmbər/ noun (abbreviation No.)

Definition

› [C] a set of numbers that marks a particular person or thing as separate from others of the same type: 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. a credit card/registration/identification number

› [C] an amount of people or things: the number of sth The number of employees taking legal action over work-related disease is increasing.a growing/increasing/declining number Regulators are seeing a growing number of stock frauds directed at small investors.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

a number of things/reasons/people, etc. › several things, reasons, people, etc.: There are a number of factors currently influencing stock-price fluctuations.

numbers [plural] › FINANCE the information in a company's accounts that shows its financial results and position: Citigroup described the supermarket's numbers as strong and solid. › used to talk about how many people are involved in something: customer/passenger/staff numbers Passenger numbers increased 11.3% in the period.

make the numbers › to achieve the expected results, expressed in numbers: The company culture drove employees to make the numbers without much concern for how they did it.

run the numbers › FINANCE to examine the details of a particular financial situation, usually in order to make a decision about it: She ran the numbers on her mortgage and realized that refinancing was the right thing to do.