number
the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
How often you will meet it
Rank 691 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 27,411 times across 155,370 chapters — 0.013% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 1,000 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
noun
- the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals also: figure the number of parameters is smallthe figure was about a thousand
- a concept of quantity involving zero and units every number has a unique position in the sequence
- a short performance that is part of a longer program also: act, routine, turn, bit he did his act three times every eveningshe had a catchy little routine
- the number is used in calling a particular telephone also: phone number, telephone number he has an unlisted number
- a symbol used to represent a number also: numeral he learned to write the numerals before he went to school
- one of a series published periodically also: issue she found an old issue of the magazine in her dentist's waiting room
number in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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Of this number 160 were of Negro descent.
The Red Record Tabulated Statistics · Ida B. Wells-Barnett · Chapter 1
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Most of these plays call for a somewhat large number of children.
The White Christmas and other Merry · Walter Ben Hare · Chapter 1
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In the case of a number of the poems, different editions of the poets' works contain different readings.
Narrative and Lyric Poems (first series) · O. J. [Annotator] Stevenson · Chapter 1
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John was obsessed, inebriated, with the number of Harrovians, each of whom had once felt strange and shy like himself.
The Hill: A Romance of Friendship · Horace Annesley Vachell · Chapter 1
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For this reason a larger number of whipbearers were stationed here, in order to make way for travellers entering the city.
An Egyptian Princess — Volume 07 · Georg Ebers · Chapter 1