number

number¹ W1S1 [ˈnʌmbə US -bər] n

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1¦(number)¦

2¦(phone)¦

3¦(in a set/list)¦

4¦(for recognizing somebody/something)¦

5¦(amount)¦

6 numbers

7¦(music)¦

8¦(magazine)¦

9 have somebody's number

10 black/elegant etc (little) number

11 somebody's number comes up

12 somebody's number is up

13 the numbers

14 by numbers

15 do a number on somebody/something

16 beyond/without number

17¦(group of people)¦

18¦(grammar)¦

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: nombre, from Latin numerus]

1.) ¦(NUMBER)¦

a word or sign that represents an amount or a quantity

→↑numeral, figure ↑figure

▪ They wrote various numbers on a large sheet of paper.

▪ Five was her lucky number.

▪ an even number (=2, 4, 6, 8, 10 etc)

▪ an odd number (=1, 3, 5, 7, 9 etc)

round number

(=a number ending in 0)

▪ A million pounds seemed a suitably round number.

be good/bad/no good with numbers informal (=to be good, bad etc at calculating things using numbers)

→↑cardinal number, ↑ordinal number, ↑prime number, ↑whole number

2.) ¦(PHONE)¦

a phone number

▪ My new number is 502-6155.

sb's home/office/work number

▪ I gave him my home number.

mobile/fax number

▪ What's your mobile number?

▪ Sorry, you have the wrong number .

3.) ¦(IN A SET/LIST)¦

a number used to show the position of something in an ordered set or list

▪ Answer question number 4.

▪ a number 17 bus

→↑E number, ↑No. 10, ↑number one¹

4.) ¦(FOR RECOGNIZING SOMEBODY/SOMETHING)¦

a set of numbers used to name or recognize someone or something

model/account etc number

▪ What is your account number, please?

▪ Press 1 to change the printer number.

▪ Did you get the number (=registration number) of the car? BrE

→↑box number, ↑PIN, ↑serial number

5.) ¦(AMOUNT)¦ [U and C]

an amount of something that can be counted

= ↑quantity the number of sth

▪ The number of cars on our roads rose dramatically last year.

a number of sth

▪ We have been friends for a number of years.

a large/small/significant/growing etc number of sth

▪ Doctors believe only a tiny number of people are at risk.

▪ The lake produces a good number of (=a lot of) salmon each season.

▪ There was an unusually high number of entries in the competition.

▪ They were printed in limited numbers .

▪ Young people have been leaving the countryside in large numbers for urban areas.

▪ Today's case brings the number of successful prosecutions in the region to (=makes the number rise to) thirty-four.

▪ There could be any number of (=many) reasons why she's late.

▪ The condors have dwindled to an estimated sixty in number .

6.) numbers [plural]

how many people there are, especially people attending an event or doing an activity together

▪ Can you give me some idea of numbers?

student/client etc numbers

▪ Visitor numbers increase in the summer.

▪ The sheer weight of numbers (=large number of people) on stage made the performance more impressive.

7.) ¦(MUSIC)¦

a piece of popular music that forms part of a longer performance

▪ Madonna sang several numbers from her latest album.

→↑production number

8.) ¦(MAGAZINE)¦ BrE

a copy of a magazine or newspaper printed on a particular date

= ↑issue number of

▪ I was reading the latest number of 'Surfing'.

▪ back numbers (=old copies) of The Times

9.) have sb's number informal

to understand something about someone that helps you deal with them

▪ Judy had always had his number.

10.) black/elegant etc (little) number informal

a black, ↑elegant etc dress or suit, especially a woman's

▪ She was wearing a chic little number.

11.) sb's number comes up

someone has the winning number in a competition

12.) sb's number is up also sb's number has come up informal

a) used to say that someone will stop being lucky or successful

b) used to say that someone will die - used humorously

▪ She told her husband she didn't mind going when her number was up.

13.) the numbers

a) information about something that is shown using numbers

▪ Chris, have you got the numbers yet?

b) an illegal game in the US in which people risk money on the appearance of a combination of numbers in a newspaper

▪ playing the numbers

14.) by numbers

if you do something by numbers, you do it in a basic way by following a set of simple instructions - used to show disapproval

▪ The last thing we want is teaching by numbers.

15.) do a number on sb/sth informal

to hurt or damage someone or something badly

▪ Tod really did a number on the old house. I don't envy the new tenants.

16.) beyond/without number

literary if things are beyond number, there are so many of them that no one could count them all

17.) ¦(GROUP OF PEOPLE)¦[U] formal

a group of people

one/two/several etc of our/their number

▪ Only three of our number could speak Italian.

▪ They wanted to choose a leader from among their own number .

18.) ¦(GRAMMAR)¦[U]

technical the form of a word, depending on whether one thing or more than one thing is being talked about

▪ 'Horses' is plural in number, while 'horse' is singular.

number ²

number² v

1.) [T]

to give a number to something that is part of an ordered set or list

▪ They haven't numbered the pages of the report.

▪ All the seats in the theatre are numbered.

▪ Each check is numbered consecutively .

▪ a numbering system

number sth (from) 1 to 10/100 etc

▪ Number the questions 1 to 25.

2.) [linking verb]

if people or things number a particular amount, that is how many there are

▪ The population of the town numbered about 5,000.

▪ The men on strike now number 5% of the workforce.

3.) sb's/sth's days are numbered

used to say that someone or something cannot live or continue for much longer

▪ I knew my days were numbered at that firm.

4.) number among sth/be numbered among sth

formal to be included as one of a particular group

▪ He was a successful corporate lawyer who numbered among his clients J.P. Morgan and Standard Oil.

5.) [T] literary

to count something

▪ Who can number the stars?

number off phr v

if soldiers number off, each one calls out their number when their turn comes

American Equivalent: count off