Definition of “number” - English Dictionary

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“number” in English

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numbernoun

uk ​ /ˈnʌm.bər/ us ​ /ˈnʌm.bɚ/

number noun (SYMBOL)

A1 [ C ] (a sign or symbol representing) a unit that forms part of the system of counting and calculating:

25, 300, and a billion are all numbers.
She's very good with numbers (= good at adding, subtracting, etc.).

A1 [ C ] written abbreviation no. a number that is used to mark a particular example of something:

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

A1 [ C ] written abbreviation no. a phone number:

I gave him my number.

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Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

number noun (AMOUNT)

B1 [ S, + sing/pl verb ] an amount or total:

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.
Letters of complaint were surprisingly few in number (= there were not many of them).
numbers [ plural ]

› a number of a particular description:

Small numbers of children are educated at home.
Large numbers of invitations were sent.
Newspapers are produced in vast numbers.
a number of things

B2 several of a particular type of thing:

I decided not to go, for a number of reasons.

› [ S, + sing/pl verb ] a group of people:

On the trip, one of our number fell ill.

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number noun (PARTICULAR THING)

› [ C ] a particular copy of a magazine:

Do you have last week's number of the New Yorker?
He's got all the back numbers (= previous copies) of the magazine.

› [ C ] informal a piece of clothing, especially a dress, that you admire:

She was wearing a stylish Dior number.

› [ C ] US slang a person with a particular characteristic:

He's a real sexy number, don't you think?

› [ C ] a short tune or song:

Sing one of those romantic numbers.

› [ C usually singular ] mainly US informal something that is often said:

He tried the usual/that old number about how his wife didn't understand him.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Grammar

NumberWhen we use the word number, we refer to specific numbers: …
Numbers: first, second, thirdNumbers such as first, second, third are ordinal numbers. We use them to put things in an order. We most commonly use ordinal numbers as determiners. When we use ordinal numbers as determiners (before nouns), we commonly use other determiners such as articles (a/an, the) and possessives (my, your) in front of them: …
Numbers: one, two, threeNumbers such as one, five, eleven, two hundred are cardinal numbers. We most commonly use cardinal numbers as determiners (before nouns). When we use them in this way, we can use other determiners such as articles (a/an, the) and possessives (my, your) in front of them. We can use cardinal numbers + of before determiners (one of my friends): …
Amount of, number of or quantity of? …
Amount of or number of?We use amount of with uncountable nouns. Number of is used with countable nouns: …
A quantity of or quantities of?Quantity is more formal than amount or number. A quantity of or quantities of can be followed by a countable noun or an uncountable noun. They are most commonly used with an adjective such as huge, big, large, small: …

Idiom(s)

any number of things
beyond/without number
by (sheer) force/weight of numbers
by numbers
do a number on sb
have sb's number
your number is up
a numbers game

numberverb

uk ​ /ˈnʌm.bər/ us ​ /ˈnʌm.bɚ/

Phrasal verb(s)

number sb/sth among sb/sth

(Definition of “number” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“number” in American English

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numbernoun

number noun (SYMBOL)

› us ​ /ˈnʌm·bər/ [ C ] plural nos. abbreviation no. 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:

You can write numbers in words, such as six, seven, and eight, or with symbols, such as 6, 7, and 8.

› us ​ /ˈnʌm·bər/ [ C ] plural nos. abbreviation no. A number is also a specific set of symbols in a particular order that represent someone or something:

Please write down your Social Security number.

› us ​ /ˈnʌm·bər/ [ C ] plural nos. abbreviation no. A number can also be a position in a series:

We’re up to 10 – who has the next number?

number noun (AMOUNT)

› us ​ /ˈnʌm·bər/ [ C/U ] an amount or total:

[ 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.

› us ​ /ˈnʌm·bər/ [ C/U ] A number of things is several of them:

[ U ] There were a number of causes for the accident.

› us ​ /ˈnʌm·bər/ [ C/U ] Any number of things is a lot of them:

[ U ] He’d already heard any number of excuses.

number noun (GRAMMAR)

› grammar /ˈnʌm·bər/ [ U ] the forms of words, esp. nouns, pronouns, and verbs, that show whether they are singular or plural

number noun (SONG)

› us ​ /ˈnʌm·bər/ [ C ] a song, dance, or other part in a performance:

The last number she sang was a beautiful, slow ballad.

Idiom(s)

someone's number is up

numberverb

us ​ /ˈnʌm·bər/

number verb (GIVE A NUMBER)

› [ T ] to give a different number to each of two or more things, esp. in a particular order:

The software automatically numbers the footnotes.

number verb (TOTAL)

› [ L ] to be (a total):

The crowd numbered over 100,000.

(Definition of “number” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“number” in Business English

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numbernoun

uk ​ /ˈnʌmbər/ us ​ abbreviation No.

› [ 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.

Compare

figure

See also

bank identification number
box number
DUNS number
opposite number
PIN
routing number
serial number
Social Security Number

numberverb

uk ​ /ˈnʌmbər/ us ​

› [ T ] to give something a number in a series:

Documents filed under the Act must be numbered.

› [ I or T ] if people or things number 100, 1 million, etc., there are that number of them:

At its peak, the workforce involved in building the new airport terminal numbered 50,000.
number in the hundreds/thousands/millions, etc. Their fan base numbers in the tens of millions worldwide.

(Definition of “number” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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