number

The word “number” means a value used to count, measure, or label something. In plain terms, a figure used for counting or identifying things — and informally, a song, an outfit, or a rough total.

“Number” is pronounced NUHM-buh ([ˈnʌ̟mbɚ] in IPA).

Here is “number” used in a sentence: “Pick a number between one and ten.”

Depending on how it is used, “number” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “number” comes from Latin. From Old French nombre, from Latin numerus ("number"), tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to divide" or "to allot".

“Number” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Number” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a value used to count, measure, or label something.

A number is the abstract value or quantity itself — the idea of 'seven', for example. A numeral is the written symbol that represents it, such as 7, VII, or the word 'seven'. In short, the numeral is the label on the page, while the number is the concept that label stands for.

A digit is a single symbol from 0 to 9, while a number can be built from one or many digits. The number 482, for instance, is made up of three digits. Every digit is a number on its own, but most numbers contain several digits arranged in a particular order.

Everyday numbers fall into several groups: whole numbers used for counting, negative numbers below zero, and fractions, decimals, and percentages for parts of a whole. Mathematicians go further with integers and rational and irrational numbers. The type you use depends on whether you are counting, measuring, or labelling something.

Any value used to count, measure, or label qualifies — the 3 in 'three apples', the 98.6 on a thermometer, or the 7 on a football shirt. These show the three main jobs numbers do: counting how many, measuring how much, and labelling which one.