number

English

Alternative forms

• nummer (dialectal)
• numbre (obsolete)

Etymology 1

From Middle English number, nombre, numbre, noumbre, from Anglo-Norman noumbre, Old French nombre, from Latin numerus (“number”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nem- (“to divide”). Compare Saterland Frisian Nummer, Nuumer, West Frisian nûmer, Dutch nummer (“number”), German Nummer (“number”), Danish nummer (“number”), Swedish nummer (“number”), Icelandic númer (“number”). Replaced Middle English ȝetæl and rime, more at tell, tale and rhyme.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: nŭmʹbər, IPA^(key): /ˈnʌmbə/
• (General American) enPR: nŭmʹbər, IPA^(key): /ˈnʌmbɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌmbə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: num‧ber

Noun

number (plural numbers)

1. (countable) An abstract entity used to describe quantity.

   Zero, one, −1, 2.5, and pi are all numbers.

2. (countable) A numeral: a symbol for a non-negative integer.

   Synonyms: scalar, (obsolete) rime

   The number 8 is usually made with a single stroke.

3. (countable, mathematics) An element of one of several sets: natural numbers, integers, rational numbers, real numbers, complex numbers, and sometimes extensions such as hypercomplex numbers, etc.

   The equation ${\displaystyle e^{i\pi }+1=0}$ includes the most important numbers: 1, 0, ${\displaystyle \pi }$, ${\displaystyle i}$, and ${\displaystyle e}$.

4. (Followed by a numeral; used attributively) Indicating the position of something in a list or sequence. Abbreviations: No or No., no or no. (in each case, sometimes written with a superscript "o", like Nº or №). The symbol "#" is also used in this manner.

   Horse number 5 won the race.

5. Quantity.
   • 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:

     From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. […]   But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’s capital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India’s southern tip.

   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

     Number itself importeth not much in armies where the people are of weak courage.

   Any number of people can be reading from a given repository at a time.

6. A sequence of digits and letters used to register people, automobiles, and various other items.

   Her passport number is C01X864TN.

8. (countable, informal) A telephone number.

   Let's give her a call. Do you have her number handy?

   I'm definitely interested. Here's my number. Call me back anytime.

   • 1974, “Rikki Don't Lose That Number”, performed by Steely Dan:

     Rikki, don't lose that number / You don't wanna call nobody else / Send it off in a letter to yourself

   • 2001, E. Forrest Hein, The Ruach Project,, Xulon Press, page 86:

     “[...] I wonder if you could get hold of him and have him call me here at Interior. I’m in my office, do you have my number?”

   • 2007, Lindsey Nicole Isham, No Sex in the City: One Virgin's Confessions on Love, Lust, Dating, and Waiting, Kregel Publications, page 111:

     When I agreed to go surfing with him he said, “Great, can I have your number?” Well, I don’t give my number to guys I don’t know.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Marsha's work number is 555-8986.

     Audio (US):

     (file)

10. (grammar) Of a word or phrase, the state of being singular, dual or plural, shown by inflection.

    Adjectives and nouns should agree in gender, number, and case.

11. (now rare, in the plural) Poetic metres; verses, rhymes.
    • a. 1631 (date written), J[ohn] Donne, “The Triple Foole”, in Poems, […] with Elegies on the Authors Death, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Iohn Marriot, […], published 1633, →OCLC, page 204:

      Griefe brought to numbers cannot be ſo fierce, / For, he tames it, that fetters it in verſe.

    • 1735 January 13 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1734), [Alexander] Pope, An Epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot, London: […] J[ohn] Wright for Lawton Gilliver […], →OCLC, page 7, lines 124–125:

      As yet a Child, nor yet a Fool to Fame, / I liſp'd in Numbers, for the Numbers came.

12. (countable) A performance; especially, a single song or song and dance routine within a larger show.

    For his second number, he sang "The Moon Shines Bright".

13. (singular only, formal) A group of people.

    one of our number ― one of us

    • 2020 August 22, Robert McCrum, “For ever and a day: why we turn to Shakespeare at times of crisis”, in The Observer‎:

      As an association, we demonstrate near-Olympic sang-froid. As I write, the gods are smiling upon us, but in the past decade – not to mince words – two of our number have got divorced, one of us checked into rehab, and all of us have had distressful troubles with teenage kids.

14. (countable, informal) A person.
    • 1968, Janet Burroway, The dancer from the dance: a novel,, Little, Brown, page 40:

      I laughed. "Don't doubt that. She's a saucy little number."

    • 1988, Erica Jong, Serenissima,, Dell, page 214:

      "Signorina Jessica," says the maid, a saucy little number, "your father has gone to his prayers and demands that you come to the synagogue at once [...]"

    • 2005, Denise A. Agnew, Kate Hill, Arianna Hart, By Honor Bound,, Ellora's Cave Publishing, page 207:

      He had to focus on the mission, staying alive and getting out, not on the sexy number rubbing up against him.

15. (countable, informal) An outfit, particularly a stylish one.
    • 2007, Cesca Martin, Agony Angel: So You Think You've Got Problems...,, Troubador Publishing Ltd, page 134:

      The trouble was I was wearing my backless glittering number from the night before underneath, so unless I could persuade the office it was National Fancy Dress Day I was doomed to sweat profusely in bottle blue.

    • 2007, Lorelei James, Running with the Devil, Samhain Publishing, Ltd, page 46:

      "I doubt the sexy number you wore earlier tonight fell from the sky."

16. (slang, chiefly US) A marijuana cigarette, or joint; also, a quantity of marijuana bought from a dealer.
    • 2005, K'wan, Hoodlum, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 1:

      These were the two that Tommy had chosen to collect a debt owed to his family by a dude named Heath who ran numbers out of a grocery store on 131st and Lenox.

    • 2009, Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice, Vintage, published 2010, page 12:

      Back at his place again, Doc rolled a number, put on a late movie, found an old T-shirt, and sat tearing it up into short strips […]

17. (dated) An issue of a periodical publication.

    the latest number of a magazine

18. A large amount, in contrast to a smaller amount; numerical preponderance.
    • 1980 May 10, Al King, “Braves travel to New England with reputation”, in The Indiana Gazette:

      Despite last week's woes, the Braves still sport numbers that would make Christie Brinkley blush.

19. An activity; assignment; job, as in cushy number.

Hyponyms

• house number
• opposite number
• phone number
• round number
• serial number
• telephone number

 

grammar: Hyponyms of "number"

• adverbial number
• cardinal number (cardinal)
• ordinal number (ordinal)

 

mathematics: Hyponyms of "number"

• complex number
• even number
• fraction
• imaginary number
• integer
• integral number
• irrational number
• natural number
• negative number
• odd number
• positive number
• prime number
• rational number
• real number

 

• See also Thesaurus:number

Derived terms

• 0800 number
• 11 o'clock number
• 800 number
• 900 number
• Abbe number
• abbreviated number
• abstract analytic number theory
• abstract number
• abundant number
• accession number
• account number
• Achilles number
• acid number
• additive number theory
• age is just a number
• aggregation number
• aleph number
• algebraic number
• algebraic number field
• algebraic number theory
• algorithmic number theory
• all-figure number
• amicable number
• analytic number theory
• angel number
• A number
• a number of
• any number of
• apocalyptic number
• Archimedes number
• Armstrong number
• atomic mass number
• atomic number
• Atwood number
• automorphic number
• autonumber
• Avogadro's number
• azimuthal quantum number
• back number
• Bagnold number
• baryon number
• basic reproduction number
• basic reproductive number
• Bates number
• Bejan number
• Bell number
• Bernoulli number
• Betti number
• bib number
• bicomplex number
• binary number
• Biot number
• book-number
• book number
• box number
• broken number
• by-the-numbers
• by the numbers
• cake number
• call number
• call someone's number
• carbon number
• Carmichael number
• Carol number
• Catalan number
• cetane number
• chromatic number
• chromosome number
• clique number
• cloud number nine
• collective number
• color by number
• color by numbers
• composite number
• computational number theory
• concrete number
• condition number
• contact number
• control number
• coordination number
• copy number
• copy number polymorphism
• copy-number variant
• copy number variation
• counting number
• covering number
• critical Reynolds number
• crossing number
• crossnumber
• crunch numbers
• Cullen number
• Cullum number
• curb number
• cushy number
• Cutter number
• cyclic number
• cyclomatic number
• decimal number
• defective number
• deficient number
• Delannoy number
• de Moivre number
• denumber
• dial number
• diamond number
• disc number
• distributive number
• do a number on
• domination number
• do numbers
• double number
• double-number
• dual number
• Dunbar's number
• edge covering number
• edge number
• electron number
• element number
• E number
• epsilon number
• Erdos number
• Erdős number
• Euler's number
• excessive number
• extended real number system
• false number 9
• fax number
• Fermat number
• Fibonacci number
• figurate number
• file off the serial numbers
• flight number
• floating-point number
• f-number
• fractional number
• frame number
• Fresnel number
• friendly number
• Frobenius number
• Froude number
• furry number
• geometry of numbers
• get someone's number
• GLIDE number
• Gödel number
• God's number
• Goldbach number
• golden number
• Graham's number
• Greek number
• Grundy number
• hailstone number
• happy number
• Hardy-Ramanujan number
• harmonic number
• Harshad number
• Hartogs number
• have one's number on it
• have someone's number
• Heegner number
• Heesch number
• hemiperfect number
• hexagonal number
• highly composite number
• Hodges number
• homogeneous number
• Horowitz number
• hyperbolic number
• hypercomplex number
• hypernumber
• hyperperfect number
• hyperreal number
• ideal number
• illegal number
• independence number
• interesting number paradox
• inverse number
• IP number
• item number
• Kaprekar number
• Keith number
• Kirschner number
• kissing number
• Knudsen number
• Köchel number
• Lah number
• law of large numbers
• Laws number
• Leonardo number
• lepton number
• Leyland number
• line number
• Liouville number
• Listing number
• L-number
• look for number one
• look out for number one
• lose the number of one's mess
• lot number
• Lucas number
• Ludolphian number
• Ludolph's number
• Lychrel number
• Mach number
• magic number
• magnetic quantum number
• make one's number
• make up the numbers
• Markov number
• mass number
• matching number
• matching numbers
• meandric number
• mesh number
• Messier number
• misnumber
• mixed number
• mobile number
• model number
• Motzkin number
• multinumber
• multiplicative number
• Narayana number
• narcissistic number
• natural numbers
• natural numbers object
• neutron number
• Newton number
• nimber
• Niven number
• non-hypotenuse number
• nonhypotenuse number
• nonstandard number
• nothing-up-my-sleeve number
• nucleon number
• nude number
• number 10
• number 2
• number 2 pencil
• numberable
• number close
• number coding
• number cruncher
• number-cruncher
• number-crunching
• number crunching
• number density
• number eight
• number eleven
• numberer
• number field
• number five
• number four
• numberful
• number game
• number homophone
• numberhood
• numberish
• numberless
• numberlike
• number line
• number needed to harm
• numberness
• number nine
• number one
• number one with a bullet
• numberous
• number pad
• number plate
• number ray
• number sentence
• number seven
• numbers game
• number sign
• number six
• numbers juggling
• numbersome
• numbers racket
• numbers station
• number system
• numbertaker
• number ten
• number-theoretic
• number-theoretical
• number-theoretically
• number-theoretic function
• number theoretician
• number theorist
• number theory
• number three
• number two
• numberwang
• numberwork
• numbery
• numeral
• numeric
• numerical
• oblong number
• occupation number
• octane number
• one's number is up
• orbital quantum number
• outnumber
• overnumber
• oxidation number
• p-adic number
• paint-by-numbers
• paint by numbers
• painting by numbers
• pancake number
• Pell number
• pentatope number
• perfect number
• perplex number
• personal identification number
• PIN number
• Pisot number
• Pisot-Vijayaraghavan number
• pitting resistance equivalent number
• plate number coil
• play number two
• Polenske number
• powerful number
• practical number
• Prandtl number
• preferred number
• premium-rate telephone number
• prenumber
• prime number theorem
• principal quantum number
• private enterprise number
• Proth number
• proton number
• pseudoperfect number
• pseudorandom number generator
• pseudo-random number generator
• public enemy number one
• purely imaginary number
• PV number
• pyramidal number
• quantum number
• quaternary number
• Ramanujan-Hardy number
• Ramsey number
• random number
• random number generator
• random number god
• rational numbers
• Rayo's number
• real number line
• real numbers
• real number system
• rectangular number
• registration number
• regnal number
• Reichert-Meissl number
• Reichert-Meissl-Wollny number
• renumber
• repfigit number
• research octane number
• Reynolds number
• Richardson number
• ringer equivalence number
• roll number
• rookie numbers
• round number bias
• Rouse number
• routing number
• RSA number
• sad number
• safety in numbers
• Sagan's number
• saponification number
• schizophrenic number
• Schröder number
• semiperfect number
• sex number
• Sierpinski number
• sieve number
• silent number
• single-number
• Skewes' number
• sociable number
• social insurance number
• social security number
• social-security number
• someone's number is up
• sphenic number
• spin quantum number
• split-complex number
• square number
• Stephanus number
• Stirling number
• Stirling number of the second kind
• Stirling partition number
• street number
• Strouhal number
• student number
• subnumber
• sunspot number
• superabundant number
• superior highly composite number
• supernumber
• superparticular number
• surreal number
• tailnumber
• tail number
• take a number
• taxicab number
• tetrahedral number
• there is safety in numbers
• there is strength in numbers
• times without number
• tone number
• total base number
• transcendental number
• transcendental number theory
• transfinite number
• trial number
• triangular number
• tricomplex number
• turn a number of shades of red
• turning number
• unhappy number
• unique identification number
• unknown number
• untouchable number
• vampire number
• vanity number
• vehicle identification number
• version number
• wave number
• wavenumber
• Weber number
• weed number
• weird number
• what is your phone number
• what number
• what's your phone number
• whole number
• winding number
• without number
• Wolf number
• Wratten number
• wrong number
• Zeisel number
• Zürich number

 

• English terms starting with “number”

Descendants

• Tok Pisin: namba
• → Brunei Malay: numbur
• → Burmese: နံပါတ် (nampat)
• → Hindustani: नंबर (nambar) / نمبر (nambar)
• → Japanese: ナンバー (nanbā)
• → Kikuyu: namba
• → Malay: nombor
  • Indonesian: nomor
• → Maori: nama
• → Navajo: námboo
• → Papiamentu: number
• → Palauan: lambang
• → Swahili: nambari, namba
• → Yoruba: nọ́ḿbà

Translations

abstract entity used to describe quantity

Abkhaz: ахыҧхьаӡара (axəpxʲadzara) Afrikaans: aantal (af), getal (af) Albanian: sasi (sq) f, numër (sq) m, Amharic: ቁጥር (ḳuṭr) Apache: Western Apache: ndee biyáti' Arabic: عَدَد (ar) m (ʕadad) Egyptian Arabic: نمرة f (nimra) Hijazi Arabic: رقِم m (ragim), رقَم m (ragam) Moroccan Arabic: رقم (raqm), نمرة f (namra) Aragonese: lumero m Armenian: թիվ (hy) (tʻiv) Old Armenian: թիւ (tʻiw) Assamese: সংখ্যা (xoṅkhya) Asturian: númberu (ast) m Azerbaijani: say (az), rəqəm (az), ədəd (az), nömrə (az), şümarə (South Azerbaijani) Bashkir: һан (han) Basque: zenbaki (eu) Belarusian: лік m (lik) Bengali: সংখ্যা (bn) (śoṅkha), নম্বর (bn) (nombor), অঙ্ক (bn) (oṅko) Bislama: namba Breton: niver (br) m Brunei Malay: numbur Bulgarian: число́ (bg) n (čisló) Burmese: နံပါတ် (my) (nampat), ဂဏန်း (my) (ga.nan:) Buryat: тоо (too) Carpathian Rusyn: чісло́ n (čisló) Catalan: nombre (ca) Cebuano: numero, gidaghanon Central Dusun: numbul Chinese: Dungan: фур (fur) (數兒／数儿), фурму (furmu) (數兒目／数儿目) Mandarin: 數／数 (zh) (shù), 數目／数目 (zh) (shùmù), 數字／数字 (zh) (shùzì) Cornish: niver Czech: číslo (cs) n Danish: tal (da) n Dutch: aantal (nl) n, hoeveelheid (nl) f Elfdalian: tal n Esperanto: nombro (eo) Estonian: arv (et) Farefare: nimõrɔ Finnish: luku (fi) French: nombre (fr) m, numéro (fr) m Old French: nombre Friulian: numar m Fula: Adlam: 𞤀𞤣𞤢𞤣𞤵, 𞤫𞤥𞥆𞤦𞤫𞤪𞤫 Latin: adadu, emmbere Galician: número (gl) m Georgian: რიცხვი (ricxvi) German: Zahl (de) f Gothic: 𐍂𐌰𐌸𐌾𐍉 f (raþjō) Greek: αριθμός (el) m (arithmós), πλήθος (el) n (plíthos) Greenlandic: kisitsit Gujarati: નંબર n (nambar) Haitian Creole: nonm Hawaiian: helu Hebrew: מִסְפָּר (he) m (mispár) Hiligaynon: isip Hindi: संख्या (hi) f (saṅkhyā), अंक (hi) m (aṅk) Hungarian: szám (hu) Icelandic: tala (is) f Ida'an: lumbur Ido: nombro (io) Inari Sami: nummeer Indonesian: angka (id), bilangan (id) Ingrian: cisla Interlingua: numero (ia) Irish: uimhir (ga) f Italian: numero (it) m Japanese: 数 (ja) (かず, kazu), 数字 (ja) (すうじ, sūji) Javanese: wilangan Karachay-Balkar: (please verify) сан (san) Karaim: сан Kazakh: сан (san), нөмір (nömır) Khakas: сан (san) Khmer: លេខ (km) (leek) Korean: 숫자(數字) (ko) (sutja), 수(數) (ko) (su) Krymchak: сан Kurdish: Central Kurdish: ژِمارە (ckb) (jimare) Northern Kurdish: hejmar (ku) f, jimare (ku) f Kyrgyz: сан (ky) (san) Ladin: numer m Lao: ເລກ (lēk) Latin: numerus (la) m Latvian: skaitlis (lv) m Lithuanian: skaičius (lt) Livonian: lug Luxembourgish: Zuel (lb) f Macedonian: број (mk) m (broj) Malay: nombor (ms), angka (ms), bilangan (ms) Malayalam: സംഖ്യ (ml) (saṅkhya) Maltese: numru (mt) Manchu: ᡨᠣᠨ (ton) Manx: earroo Mauritian Creole: nimero Mirandese: númaro m Mongolian: Cyrillic: тоо (mn) (too) Mongolian: ᠲᠣᠭ᠎ᠠ (tog-a) Navajo: námboo, ánéeltʼeʼ, ákwíígíí, nóomba Nepali: संख्या f (saṅkhyā), अंक m (aṅka) Nogai: сан (san) Northern Altai: тоо (too), сан (san) Northern Sami: lohku, tálla Norwegian: Bokmål: antall (no) n, tall (no) n Nynorsk: tal (no) n Occitan: nombre (oc) m Odia: ସଂଖ୍ୟା (or) (saṅkhyā) Old English: rīm n, tæl n Old Frisian: rīm Old High German: rīm Old Javanese: wilaṅ Ottoman Turkish: سایی (sayı), عدد (aded) Pali: gaṇanā Papiamentu: number Pashto: رقم (ps) m (raqam), عدد (ps) m ('adad), نمره (ps) f (nomra) Persian: Dari: شُمَارَه (fa) (šumāra), رَقَم (fa) (raqam), عَدَد (fa) (adad) Iranian Persian: شُمارِه (fa) (šomâre), رَقَم (fa) (rağam), عَدَد (fa) (adad), نُمْرِه (fa) (nomre) Piedmontese: nùmer m Polish: liczba (pl) f Portuguese: número (pt) m Quechua: yupay Rabha: জায় Romanian: număr (ro) n Romansch: numer m, nomer Russian: число́ (ru) n (čisló) Sanskrit: संख्या (sa) f (saṃkhyā) Sardinian: númeru m, númunu m Scottish Gaelic: àireamh f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: бро̑ј m, чи́сло n Roman: brȏj (sh) m, číslo (sh) n Seychellois Creole: nimero Shor: сан Sicilian: nummuru (scn), nùmmuru (scn) m Sinhalese: ගණන (gaṇana), අංක (aṁka) Slovak: číslo (sk) n Slovene: število (sl) n Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: cysło n, numer m Upper Sorbian: ličba f, čisło n Southern Altai: сагыш (sagïš) Spanish: número (es) m, guarismo (es) m Sundanese: ᮝᮤᮜᮍᮔ᮪ (wilangan) Swahili: nambari (sw), namba Swedish: tal (sv) n Tagalog: bilang (tl) Tajik: рақам (tg) (raqam), адад (tg) (adad), шумора (tg) (šumora) Tamil: எண் (ta) (eṇ) Tarantino: numere m Tatar: сан (tt) (san) Tausug: taud, umbul Telugu: సంఖ్య (te) (saṅkhya) Thai: จำนวน (th) (jam-nuuan), เลข (th) (lêek) Tibetan: གྲངས་ཀ (grangs ka) Tigrinya: ቍጽሪ (ḳʷəṣri) Tofa: сан Turkish: sayı (tr), rakam (tr), adet (tr) Turkmen: san (tk) Tuvan: сан (san) Ukrainian: число́ (uk) n (čysló) Urdu: عَدَد f ('adad), تَعْداد f (ta'dād) Uyghur: رەقەم (reqem), سان (san) Uzbek: raqam (uz), son (uz) Venetan: nùmaro (vec) m Vietnamese: số (vi) (數 (vi)) Volapük: numat (vo) Welsh: rhif (cy) m Yakan: umbul Yiddish: נומער m (numer), צאָל f (tsol) Yoruba: nọ́ḿbà, òǹkà Yucatec Maya: xook, xookol Zazaki: amor (diq), amar (diq), reqem (diq), ambar (diq) Zhuang: cihsoq, susw, soqcih, soqmoeg

numeral

Afrikaans: please add this translation if you can Arabic: عَدَد (ar) m (ʕadad), رَقْم (ar) m (raqm) Moroccan Arabic: رقم (raqm) Armenian: թիվ (hy) (tʻiv), թվանշան (hy) (tʻvanšan) Belarusian: лічэ́бнік m (ličébnik), лі́чба f (líčba) Bulgarian: числи́телно и́ме n (čislítelno íme), числи́телно (bg) n (čislítelno) Catalan: xifra (ca) f, número (ca) m Chinese: Cantonese: 數詞／数词 (sou3 ci4), 數／数, 數字／数字 (sou3 zi6) Mandarin: 數詞／数词 (zh) (shùcí), 數／数 (zh) (shù), 數字／数字 (zh) (shùzì) Czech: číslovka (cs) f, číslice (cs) f Danish: tal (da) n Dutch: nummer (nl) n, cijfer (nl) n Esperanto: cifero Finnish: numero (fi) (number); lukusana (fi) (word) French: chiffre (fr) m Georgian: ციფრი (cipri) German: Nummer (de), Ziffer (de) f Greek: αριθμός (el) m (arithmós), ψηφίο (el) n (psifío), νούμερο (el) n (noúmero) Hawaiian: hua helu Hebrew: סִפְרָה (he) f (sifrá) Hindi: संख्या (hi) f (saṅkhyā) Hungarian: szám (hu), számjegy (hu) Icelandic: tölustafur (is) m Indonesian: nomor (id) Ingrian: numeri, cisla Irish: figiúr m Italian: numero (it) m, cifra (it) f Japanese: 数字 (ja) (すうじ, sūji), 数詞 (ja) (すうし, sūshi), 数 (ja) (かず, kazu) Khmer: លេខ (km) (leek) Korean: 숫자(數字) (ko) (sutja), 수사(數詞) (ko) (susa) Lao: ເລກ (lēk), ຕົວເລກ (tūa lēk) Latvian: numurs m Laz: ციფრი (ʒipri) Lithuanian: numeris (lt) m Livonian: nummõrz Low German: German Low German: Tall (nds) f (Northern Low German), Tahl (nds) f (Northern Low German) Macedonian: бро́јка f (brójka), ци́фра f (cífra) Malayalam: സംഖ്യ (ml) (saṅkhya) Manchu: ᡨᠣᠨ (ton) Navajo: námboo Norwegian: Bokmål: tall (no) n Nynorsk: tal (no) n Occitan: chifra (oc) f Odia: ସଂଖ୍ୟା (or) (saṅkhyā) Persian: Classical Persian: عَدَد (fa) (adad), رَقَم (fa) (raqam) Iranian Persian: عَدَد (fa) (adad), رَقَم (fa) (rağam) Polish: cyfra (pl) f, liczebnik (pl) m Portuguese: número (pt) m, numeral (pt) m Romanian: număr (ro) n Russian: число́ (ru) n (čisló), ци́фра (ru) f (cífra), (part of speech) числи́тельное (ru) n (čislítelʹnoje), и́мя числи́тельное (ru) n (ímja čislítelʹnoje) Scottish Gaelic: àireamh f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: brȏj (sh) m Roman: brȏj (sh) m Slovak: číslovka (sk) f Slovene: števnik (sl) m Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: cysło n, numer m Spanish: número (es), guarismo (es) m Swahili: nambari (sw) Swedish: tal (sv) Tagalog: bilang (tl) Tashelhit: nnmra m Telugu: సంఖ్య (te) (saṅkhya) Thai: เลข (th) (lêek), ตัวเลข (th) (dtuua-lêek) Turkish: numara (tr) Ukrainian: числі́вник (uk) m (čyslívnyk), ци́фра (uk) f (cýfra) Urdu: عَدَد m ('adad), رَقَم f (raqam), نَمْبَر m (nambar) Vietnamese: số (vi) (數 (vi)) Welsh: rhif (cy) m Yiddish: נומער m (numer), מספּר m (misper)

mathematics: number

Arabic: عَدَد (ar) m (ʕadad) Armenian: թիվ (hy) (tʻiv) Belarusian: лі́чба f (líčba) Bengali: সংখ্যা (bn) (śoṅkha) Bulgarian: число́ (bg) n (čisló) Catalan: nombre (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 數／数 (zh) Czech: číslo (cs) n Danish: tal (da) n Dutch: getal (nl) n Esperanto: nombro (eo) Finnish: luku (fi) French: nombre (fr) m Georgian: რიცხვი (ricxvi) German: Zahl (de) f Greek: αριθμός (el) m (arithmós) Hebrew: מִסְפָּר (he) m (mispár) Hindi: संख्या (hi) f (saṅkhyā) Hungarian: szám (hu) Icelandic: tala (is) f Italian: numero (it) m Japanese: 数 (ja) (すう, sū) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: ژِمارە (ckb) (jimare) Latin: numerus (la) m Latvian: skaitlis (lv) m Luxembourgish: Zuel (lb) f Macedonian: број (mk) m (broj) Maltese: numru (mt) Manchu: ᡨᠣᠨ (ton) Mongolian: Cyrillic: тоо (mn) (too) Nahuatl: tlapoalli Navajo: ánéeltʼeʼ Norwegian: Bokmål: tall (no) n Nynorsk: tal (no) n Persian: Dari: عَدَد (fa) (adad), رَقَم (fa) (raqam) Iranian Persian: عَدَد (fa) (adad), رَقَم (fa) (rağam) Plautdietsch: Zol f Polish: liczba (pl) f Portuguese: número (pt) m Romanian: număr (ro) n Russian: число́ (ru) n (čisló) Scottish Gaelic: àireamh f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: бро̑ј m Roman: brȏj (sh) m Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: cysło n, numer m Spanish: número (es) m Swahili: nambari (sw), namba Swedish: heltal (sv) n Tagalog: bilang (tl) Tajik: адад (tg) (adad) Telugu: సంఖ్య (te) (saṅkhya) Turkish: sayı (tr) Ukrainian: число́ (uk) n (čysló) Welsh: rhif (cy) m

used to show the rank of something in a list or sequence

Arabic: رَقْم (ar) m (raqm) Egyptian Arabic: نمره f (nímra), نمرة f (nímra) Moroccan Arabic: نمرة (namra), رقم (raqm) Armenian: համար (hy) (hamar) Asturian: númberu (ast) m Azerbaijani: nömrə (az) Basque: zenbaki (eu) Belarusian: ну́мар m (númar) Bengali: নম্বর (bn) (nombor) Breton: niverenn (br) f Bulgarian: но́мер (bg) m (nómer) Catalan: número (ca) m Chinese: Cantonese: 號碼／号码 (hou6 maa5), 號／号 (yue) (hou6) Dungan: хо (ho) Hokkien: 號碼／号码 (zh-min-nan) (hō-bé / hō-bée / hō-má), 號／号 (zh-min-nan) (hō / hō͘ / kō) Mandarin: 號碼／号码 (zh) (hàomǎ), 號／号 (zh) (hào) Czech: číslo (cs) n Dutch: nummer (nl) f Esperanto: numero (eo) Finnish: numero (fi) French: numéro (fr) m Georgian: ნომერი (nomeri) German: Nummer (de) f Greek: αριθμός (el) m (arithmós), νούμερο (el) n (noúmero) Haitian Creole: nimewo Hindi: नंबर (hi) m (nambar) Hungarian: -odik (hu), -adik (hu), -edik (hu), -ödik (hu), -os (hu), -as (hu), -es (hu), -ös (hu), sorszám (hu), jelzés (hu), számjelzés (hu) Icelandic: númer (is) f Ido: numero (io) Ingrian: numeri Italian: numero (it) m Japanese: 番 (ja) (ばん, ban) (suffix) Kazakh: нөмір (nömır) Korean: 번호(番號) (ko) (beonho), 번(番) (ko) (beon) Kyrgyz: номер (nomer) Lao: ເລກ (lēk) Latin: numero (la) Latvian: numurs m Macedonian: број (mk) m (broj) Malay: nombor (ms) Maltese: numru (mt) Mongolian: Cyrillic: дугаар (mn) (dugaar) Norwegian: Bokmål: nummer (no) n Nynorsk: nummer n Persian: Dari: شُمَارَه (fa) (šumāra) Iranian Persian: شُمارِه (fa) (šomâre), نُمْرِه (fa) (nomre) Polish: numer (pl) m inan Portuguese: número (pt) m Romanian: număr (ro) n Russian: но́мер (ru) m (nómer) Scottish Gaelic: àireamh f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: бро̑ј m Roman: brȏj (sh) m Slovak: číslo (sk) n Slovene: številko n Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: cysło n, numer m Southern Altai: тоо (too) Spanish: número (es) m Swahili: nambari (sw) Swedish: nummer (sv) n Tajik: шумора (tg) (šumora), рақам (tg) (raqam) Telugu: శ్రేణి (te) (śrēṇi) Turkish: sayı (tr) Turkmen: nomer Ukrainian: но́мер (uk) m (nómer) Urdu: نَمْبَر m (nambar) Uyghur: نومۇر (nomur) Uzbek: nomer (uz), yorliq (uz) Vietnamese: số (vi) (數 (vi)) Welsh: rhif (cy) m Xibe: ᡥᠣᠣ (hoo) Yiddish: נומער m (numer)

quantity

Armenian: թիվ (hy) (tʻiv), քանակ (hy) (kʻanak) Belarusian: чысло́ n (čysló), ко́лькасць (be) f (kólʹkascʹ) Bulgarian: коли́чество (bg) n (kolíčestvo) Catalan: nombre (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 多少 (zh) (duōshǎo), 數碼／数码 (zh) (shùmǎ) Czech: množství (cs) n Dutch: aantal (nl) n Egyptian: (ṯnw) Esperanto: nombro (eo) Finnish: lukumäärä (fi), määrä (fi) French: nombre (fr) m Georgian: რაოდენობა (raodenoba) German: Anzahl (de) f, Zahl (de) f Greek: αριθμός (el) m (arithmós), ποσότητα (el) f (posótita) Hebrew: כַּמּוּת (he) f (kamút) Hungarian: szám (hu), létszám (hu) Icelandic: fjöldi (is) m Italian: numero (it) m, quantità (it) f Japanese: 多寡 (ja) (たか, taka), 数 (ja) (かず, kazu) Korean: 숫자 (ko) (sutja), 수량(數量) (ko) (suryang) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: ژِمارە (ckb) (jimare) Latvian: skaits (lv) m Macedonian: број (mk) m (broj), количество n (količestvo), количина f (količina) Maori: tokopae (of people) Nahuatl: tlapoalli Ngazidja Comorian: hisaɓu class 9/10 Persian: Iranian Persian: تِعْداد (fa) (te'dâd) Plautdietsch: Zol f Polish: liczba (pl) f, ilość (pl) f Portuguese: quantidade (pt) f, número (pt) m Romanian: cantitate (ro) f, număr (ro) n Russian: число́ (ru) n (čisló), коли́чество (ru) n (kolíčestvo) Scottish Gaelic: àireamh f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: мно̀штво n Roman: mnòštvo (sh) n Slovak: množstvo n Spanish: número (es) m, cantidad (es) f, serie (es) f Swedish: antal (sv) n, numerär (sv) c Tagalog: bilang (tl) Tajik: теъдод (teʾdod‍) Telugu: మొత్తము (te) (mottamu) Turkish: sayı (tr) Ukrainian: число́ (uk) n (čysló), кі́лькість (uk) f (kílʹkistʹ) Urdu: تِعْداد f (ti'dād) Welsh: nifer (cy) m or f ǃXóõ: (of objects) ǃɢa̰n-ǃɢa̰n, (of people) dzâa

sequence of digits and letters used to register people, automobiles, etc.

Arabic: رَقْم (ar) m (raqm) Armenian: համար (hy) (hamar) Azerbaijani: nömrə (az) Belarusian: ну́мар m (númar) Bengali: নম্বর (bn) (nombor) Bulgarian: но́мер (bg) m (nómer) Chinese: Mandarin: 號碼／号码 (zh) (hàomǎ) Czech: číslo (cs) n Esperanto: numero (eo) Finnish: numero (fi) Hindi: नंबर (hi) m (nambar) Hungarian: szám (hu), kód (hu), azonosító (hu), rendszám (hu) Japanese: 番号 (ja) (ばんごう, bangō) Korean: 번호(番號) (ko) (beonho) Mongolian: Cyrillic: дугаар (mn) (dugaar) Persian: Iranian Persian: شُمارِه (fa) (šomâre), نُمْرِه (fa) (nomre) Polish: numer (pl) m Portuguese: número (pt) m Russian: но́мер (ru) m (nómer) Slovak: číslo (sk) n Thai: หมายเลข (th) (mǎai-lêek), เบอร์ (th) (bəə) (colloquial) Ukrainian: но́мер (uk) m (nómer) Urdu: نَمْبَر m (nambar) Vietnamese: số (vi) Welsh: rhif (cy) m

informal: telephone number

Arabic: رَقْم (ar) m (raqm) Belarusian: ну́мар m (númar) Bengali: নম্বর (bn) (nombor) Bulgarian: но́мер (bg) m (nómer) Czech: číslo (cs) n Finnish: numero (fi) French: numéro (fr) m German: Nummer (de) f Hindi: नंबर (hi) m (nambar) Hungarian: szám (hu), telefonszám (hu) Japanese: 番号 (ja) (ばんごう, bangō) Korean: 번호(番號) (ko) (beonho) Macedonian: број (mk) m (broj) Mongolian: Cyrillic: дугаар (mn) (dugaar) Persian: Iranian Persian: نُمْرِه (fa) (nomre), شُمارِه (fa) (šomâre) Polish: numer (pl) m Portuguese: número (pt) m, telefone (pt) m Russian: но́мер (ru) m (nómer) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: бро̑ј m Roman: brȏj (sh) m Slovak: číslo (sk) n Slovene: številko n Thai: เบอร์ (th) (bəə) Ukrainian: но́мер (uk) m (nómer) Urdu: نَمْبَر m (nambar) Welsh: rhif (cy) m

grammar: state of being singular, dual or plural

Armenian: թիվ (hy) (tʻiv) Belarusian: лі́чба f (líčba) Bengali: বচন (bn) (bocon) Catalan: nombre (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 數／数 (zh) (shù) Czech: číslo (cs) n Danish: tal (da) n Dutch: getal (nl) n Esperanto: nombro (eo) Faroese: tal n Finnish: luku (fi) French: nombre (fr) m German: Zahl (de) m, Numerus (de) m Greek: αριθμός (el) m (arithmós) Hungarian: szám (hu) Icelandic: tala (is) f Ingrian: luku Italian: numero (it) m Korean: 수(數) (ko) (su) Latin: numerus (la) m Macedonian: број (mk) m (broj) Manchu: ᡨᠣᠨ (ton) Mongolian: Cyrillic: тоо (mn) (too) Norwegian: numerus m Polish: liczba (pl) f Portuguese: número (pt) m Romanian: număr (ro) n Russian: число́ (ru) n (čisló) Scottish Gaelic: àireamh f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: бро̑ј m Roman: brȏj (sh) m Slovak: číslo (sk) n Spanish: número (es) m Swedish: numerus (sv) n Tagalog: kailanan Telugu: ఒంటరి (te) (oṇṭari), ఒకటిగా (te) (okaṭigā) Ukrainian: число́ (uk) n (čysló) Vietnamese: số (vi) (數 (vi)) Votic: luku Welsh: rhif (cy) m

poetic metres; verses, rhymes.

Finnish: säkeet pl

performance

Belarusian: ну́мар m (númar) Catalan: número (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 節目／节目 (zh) (jiémù) Finnish: numero (fi), ohjelmanumero French: numéro (fr) m German: Nummer (de) f Greek: νούμερο (el) n (noúmero) Hungarian: szám (hu), zeneszám (hu) Italian: numero (it) m Polish: numer (pl) m Portuguese: número (pt) m Romanian: număr (ro) n Russian: но́мер (ru) m (nómer) Spanish: número (es) m Swedish: nummer (sv) n Ukrainian: но́мер (uk) m (nómer) Welsh: eitem (cy) f

informal: person

Finnish: pakkaus (fi) Hungarian: darab (hu)

informal: item of clothing, particularly a stylish one

Finnish: luomus (fi) Hungarian: ruhadarab (hu) Welsh: dilledyn (cy) m

slang: marijuana cigarette, or quantity of marijuana

Finnish: jointti (fi) (cigarette)

issue of a periodical publication

Finnish: numero (fi) Hungarian: szám (hu) Italian: numero (it) m Japanese: 号 (ja) (ごう, gō) Polish: numer (pl) m Welsh: rhifyn m

Verb

number (third-person singular simple present numbers, present participle numbering, simple past and past participle numbered)

1. (intransitive) To total or count; to amount to.

   I don’t know how many books are in the library, but they must number in the thousands.

   • 1977, United States Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Crime, Federal Role in Criminal Justice and Crime Research, page 107:

     Do they number in the hundreds, do they number in the thousands? Do they number in the tens of thousand?

2. (transitive, passive voice) To limit to a certain number; to reckon (as by fate) to be few in number.

   The old man knew that his days were numbered.

   • 1867, The Days of England Not “numbered”: Reply to Sir Archibald Alison, page 1:

     THE DAYS OF ENGLAND NOT “NUMBERED.” REPLY TO SIR ARCHIBALD ALISON.

   • 2018 February 6, Dan Bouk, How Our Days Became Numbered: Risk and the Rise of the Statistical Individual, University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 209:

     To conclude this book, we will let Lange’s photo and its three layers guide us. Each layer invites us to explore a different answer to this book's title question—how did our days become numbered?

3. (transitive, literary or archaic) To count; to determine the quantity of.

   The king ordered that all his subjects be numbered.

   Who can number all the stars and who can count the desert sands?

   • 1610, The Bible: That Is, the Holy Scriptures Contained in the Olde and New Testament, Numbers 1:3:

     From twentie yeare old and above, all that go forth to the warre in Iſrael, thou and Aaron ſhall number them, throughout their armies.

4. (transitive) To label (items) with numbers; to assign numbers to (items).

   Number the baskets so that we can find them easily.

   • 1964, Education U.S. Department of Health (and Welfare), United States. Public Health Service, Public Health Service Numbered Publications: Supplement:

     “Public Health Service Numbered Publications – A Catalog, 1950-1962” and contains those numbered publications issued during the period 1963-64.

   • 1972, United States. National Archives and Records Service, Miscellaneous Numbered Records (the Manuscript File) in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, 1775-1790's, page 3:

     Most of the remaining records in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records were designated "miscellaneous" records, consecutively numbered, and placed in a fourth large series of records that came to be known as  […]

   • 2022 September 4, Francis Lynde, The City of Numbered Days, DigiCat:

     The remainder of the valley is laid off into cute little squares and streets, with everything named and numbered, ready to be listed in the brokers’ offices.

5. (transitive, with off) To call out and assign a series of numbers (usually to people), either for the sake of dividing into groups or for counting.

   Shelley numbered off the group into two teams for the baseball game.

   • 1870, USA House of Representatives, House Documents, page 532:

     I counted them and numbered them off, and I found about three hundred and seventy or three hundred and seventy-five.

   • 2014 March 3, Flora Johnston, War Classics: The Remarkable Memoir of Scottish Scholar Christina Keith on the Western Front, The History Press, →ISBN:

     At my entrance, the Sergeant called them to attention, numbered them off smartly, and presented two Companies for my instruction.

6. (transitive, with off) To enumerate or list, especially while assigning numbers to.
   • 2019 January 11, Mark G. Turner, We Both Shall Row, My Love And I, FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 367:

     I numbered them off on my fingers as I stated them. “First, I would redeem a small amount of my investment assets to pay off the cleared lot and come up with a down payment for the ten acres. Second, I would seek to obtain an open […]

7. (transitive, usually with among) To classify or include (in a group of things)

   Alexander the Great's army numbered an elite cavalry among its ranks.

   • 1839, Saint Cyprian (Bishop of Carthage.), The Treatises of S. Caecilius Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, and Martyr, page 298:

     We fools counted their life madness, and their end to be without honour: how are they numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the Saints!

   • 1879, United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Report, page 76:

     They number among them men of intelligence and education, fitted in almost every respect to share in the responsibilities of government as well as receive a part of its benefits.

   • 1963, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Hearings, page 69:

     We certainly endorse the essential purpose of S. 708 — namely, that an applicant should not obtain a grant simply because it numbers among its stockholders a Member of Congress  […]

   • 2019 August 6, Fr. Joseph Irvin, The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: Orthodox Service Books - Number 1, Lulu Press, Inc, →ISBN:

     Unite them to Your Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, and number them with Your chosen flock. That with us they may glorify Your all-honorable and majestic name: of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and ever.

8. (intransitive, usually with among) To be classified or included (in a certain group or category of things).

   Her horses number among the fastest in her country.

   • 2010 September 3, Catherine Tizard, Cat Among the Pigeons: A Memoir, Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited, →ISBN:

     They number among our best people, particularly when we realise that they are models for what the rest of us might also achieve.

   • 2020 October 1, Elizabeth Koepping, Spousal Violence Among World Christians: Silent Scandal, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

     If they number among those who abuse their wives, they, just like abusing leaders, should stop.

Translations

to total; to amount to

Asturian: numberar Bulgarian: наброявам (bg) (nabrojavam) Catalan: comptar (ca), sumar (ca) Czech: počítat se (cs) Esperanto: nombri Finnish: olla (fi), nousta (fi) German: zählen (de) Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽 (garaþjan) Hungarian: a száma/számuk (…van) (literally “its/their number is…”), kitesz (-t) (hu), rúg (-ra/-re) (hu) Irish: uimhrigh Italian: ammontare (it) Macedonian: избројува (izbrojuva), набројува (nabrojuva) Portuguese: amontar (pt) Russian: насчи́тывать (ru) (nasčítyvatʹ), исчисля́ться (ru) (isčisljátʹsja) Turkish: saymak (tr)

to be limited to a certain number

literary: to count — see also count

French: nombrer (fr)

label with numbers; assign numbers to

Arabic: رَقَّمَ (ar) (raqqama) Aramaic: Syriac: ܡܢܐ (mna) Asturian: numberar Breton: niverenniñ Bulgarian: номерирам (nomeriram) Catalan: numerar (ca) Czech: číslovat Dutch: nummeren (nl) Esperanto: numeri Finnish: numeroida (fi) French: numéroter (fr) German: nummerieren (de) Greek: αριθμώ (el) (arithmó) Hebrew: מספר (he) m (misper) Hungarian: megszámoz (hu) Icelandic: númera, tölusetja Interlingua: numerar Irish: uimhrigh Italian: numerare (it) Latin: numerare (la) Latvian: numurēt Macedonian: нумери́ра (numeríra) Polish: numerować (pl) Portuguese: numerar (pt) Romanian: numerota (ro) Russian: нумерова́ть (ru) (numerovátʹ) Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: cysłowaś impf, numerěrowaś impf Spanish: numerar (es) Swedish: numrera (sv) Turkish: numaralamak (tr) Welsh: rhifo (cy)

to call out and assign numbers

to enumerate — see also enumerate

French: dénombrer (fr)

to classify or include (among)

French: compter (fr)

to be classified or included (among)

French: compter (fr)

See also

• (grammatical numbers): singular, dual, trial, quadral, paucal, plural, singulative
• Wiktionary’s Appendix of numbers

References

• number on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “number”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Etymology 2

From numb + -er.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: nŭm'ə, IPA^(key): /ˈnʌmə/
• (US) enPR: nŭm'ər, IPA^(key): /ˈnʌmɚ/

• Audio (US); “number” (adjective):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: num‧ber

Adjective

number

1. comparative form of numb: more numb

Anagrams

• numbre, renumb

Estonian

Alternative forms

• nr (abbreviation)

Etymology

From German Nummer. The added -b- is analogous to kamber and klamber.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnumb̥er/, [ˈnumb̥er]
• Rhymes: -umber
• Hyphenation: num‧ber

Noun

number (genitive numbri, partitive numbrit)

1. number (the symbol representing the number, its character)
2. number plate, licence plate, license plate

   Synonym: numbrimärk

3. number (periodical (numbered) single issue)

   Synonym: ajalehenumber

Declension

Declension of number (ÕS type 2/õpik, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		number	numbrid
accusative	nom.
	gen.	numbri
genitive			numbrite
partitive		numbrit	numbreid
illative		numbrisse	numbritesse numbreisse
inessive		numbris	numbrites numbreis
elative		numbrist	numbritest numbreist
allative		numbrile	numbritele numbreile
adessive		numbril	numbritel numbreil
ablative		numbrilt	numbritelt numbreilt
translative		numbriks	numbriteks numbreiks
terminative		numbrini	numbriteni
essive		numbrina	numbritena
abessive		numbrita	numbriteta
comitative		numbriga	numbritega

References

• number in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)
• “number”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009

Middle English

Noun

number

1. Alternative form of nombre

Papiamentu

Etymology

From English number.

An analogy of the Papiamentu word nòmber "name".

Noun

number

1. number