number
[noun]
Synonyms:
- numeral, character, digit, figure, integer
- quantity, aggregate, amount, collection, crowd, horde, multitude, throng
- issue, copy, edition, imprint, printing
[verb]
Synonyms:
- count, account, add, calculate, compute, enumerate, include, reckon, total

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English Thesaurus: music, tune, melody, harmony, piece, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

800 num·ber /eɪtˈhʌndrəd ˌnʌmbə, eɪtˈhʌndrɪd ˌnʌmbə $ -bər/ (also 800 line, toll-free number, toll-free number American English) noun
a telephone number which one can telephone without paying for the call

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

I. num·ber¹ S1 W1 /ˈnʌmbə $ -bər/ noun
[Word Family: noun: number, numeral, numeracy, numerator, innumeracy; adjective: innumerable, numerical, numerous, numerate ≠ innumerate; verb: number, outnumber; adverb: numerically]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: nombre, from Latin numerus]

1. NUMBER [countable] a word or sign that represents an exact amount or quantity ⇒ numeral, figure:
They wrote various numbers on a large sheet of paper.
Add all the numbers together.
an even number (=2, 4, 6, 8 etc)
an odd number (=1, 3, 5, 7 etc)
a round number (=one ending in 0)
A hundred pounds is a good round number.
I’m no good with numbers.

2. PHONE [countable] 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 [countable] 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 [countable] 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? British English ⇒ box number, PIN number, serial number

5. AMOUNT [uncountable and countable] an amount of something that can be counted Synonym : quantity
the number of something
The number of cars on our roads rose dramatically last year.
a number of something
We have been friends for a number of years.
in number
The condors have dwindled to an estimated sixty in number.
GRAMMAR
Use a singular verb after the number of:
The number of farmers is decreasing. You are talking about the size of the group.
Use a plural verb after a number of:
A number of options were suggested. You are referring to the group.

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 [countable] a piece of popular music that forms part of a longer performance:
Madonna sang several numbers from her latest album. ⇒ production number

8. MAGAZINE [countable] British English a copy of a magazine or newspaper printed on a particular date Synonym : 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 somebody/something 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 [uncountable] 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 [uncountable] 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.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. number² verb
[Word Family: noun: number, numeral, numeracy, numerator, innumeracy; adjective: innumerable, numerical, numerous, numerate ≠ innumerate; verb: number, outnumber; adverb: numerically]

1. [transitive] 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 something (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 something/be numbered among something formal to be included as one of a particular group:
He was a successful corporate lawyer who numbered among his clients JPMorgan and Standard Oil.

5. [transitive] literary to count something:
Who can number the stars?
number off phrasal verb British English
if soldiers number off, each one calls out their number when their turn comes Synonym : count off American English

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

Number 10 /ˌnʌmbə ˈten $ -bər-/
⇒ see No. 10

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

Number 11 /ˌnʌmbər ɪˈlevən/
⇒ see No. 11

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

number
noun
I. symbol/word
ADJ. cardinal, decimal, ordinal | even, odd Houses on this side of the road have even numbers.
high, low | prime | random | lucky, unlucky Many people think 13 is an unlucky number.
winning the winning numbers in tonight's lottery
VERB + NUMBER add, divide, multiply, subtract, take away Add all the numbers together, divide by ten, and take away the number you first thought of.
PHRASES in round numbers There were about 150 there, in round numbers.
number crunching (= doing calculations) There's more to accountancy than just number crunching.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

number
II. quantity/amount
ADJ. considerable, enormous, great, huge, inordinate, large, substantial, vast | record a record number of enquiries
disproportionate, surprising | fair, reasonable, significant We've had a fair number of complaints about the new phone system.
finite, infinite There are an infinite number of solutions to the problem.
equal The candidates received an equal number of votes.
maximum, minimum | average, mean, median | adequate, sufficient | limited, small | growing, increasing, rising | exact, precise Many people have died in the epidemic?the precise number is not known.
indefinite, unspecified | approximate | total
VERB + NUMBER grow in, increase in Factories had increased in number between the wars.
decrease in, reduce in
NUMBER + VERB double, grow, increase | decline, diminish, drop, dwindle, fall (off/down) Shark numbers have dwindled as a result of hunting.
PREP. in ~ The paintings, twelve in number, are over 200 years old.
PHRASES a decline/drop in numbers The decline in numbers of young people means that fewer teachers will be needed.
a growth/an increase in numbers, few/limited/small in number Wild dogs are now few in number.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

number
III. for identifying sb/sth
ADJ. account, identity, registration, serial, etc. | flat, house
PREP. at ~ We live at number 21.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

number
IV. telephone number
ADJ. fax, phone, telephone | home, office, work | wrong I keep getting the wrong number.
VERB + NUMBER call, dial, phone, ring | get

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

number
verb
ADV. clearly | consecutively, sequentially
PREP. according to, by Each pigeon hole is clearly numbered by floor and by room.
from, to Number the car's features from 1 to 10 according to importance.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

number

a lucky number (=a number you think gives you good luck)
Three is my lucky number.
an even number (=2, 4, 6, 8 etc)
All even numbers can be divided by 2.
an odd number (=1, 3, 5, 7 etc)
You can’t work in pairs if you’ve got an odd number of people.
a round number (=a number ending in zero)
A hundred is a nice round number.
a positive number (=a number that is more than zero)
Maths is easier if you are dealing with positive numbers.
a negative/minus number (=a number that is less than zero)
Can a negative number have a square root?
a prime number (=a number such as 13 that can be divided only by itself and 1)
After 7, what is the next prime number?
a cardinal number (=a number such as 1, 2, or 3 that shows how many of something there are)
Numbers go on to infinity, so there is no last cardinal number.
an ordinal number (=a number such as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd that shows where something comes in a series or list)
The children learn about position and ordinal numbers when they stand in a line.
a whole number (=a number that is not a fraction)
add numbers together
Add the two numbers together and divide by three.
add up numbers (=add several numbers together)
Write all the numbers down, then add them up.
subtract one number from another
Subtract this number from the total.
multiply one number by another
What happens if you multiply a postive number by a negative number?
divide one number by another
You can’t divide a prime number by any other number, except 1.
a large/great number
A large number of children were running around in the playground.
a vast/huge number (=very large)
We’ve had a huge number of complaints.
a high number
There seems to be no reason for the high number of suicides.
a considerable/substantial/significant number (=quite a large number)
He received a substantial number of votes.
A considerable number of students left after the first year.
a good number (=quite a lot)
He has written a good number of books for children.
a small number
The class had only a small number of students.
a low number
the low numbers of women involved in sports coaching
a limited number (=quite small)
A limited number of copies were printed.
a tiny number (=very small)
Only a tiny number of these animals remain in the wild.
a growing/increasing number
An increasing number of women are entering the profession.
increase the number of something
As you improve, increase the number of times you do each exercise.
reduce the number of something
We need to reduce the number of cars on the road.
a number increases/goes up/grows/rises
The number of mobile phones has increased dramatically.
a number doubles (=becomes twice as big)
The number of road accidents has doubled in the last ten years.
a number falls/drops/goes down/decreases/declines
The number of new houses being built is falling steadily.
a number halves (=becomes twice as small)
The number of children failing at school has halved in recent years.
in large/increasing/limited etc numbers
Birds nest here in large numbers.
any number of something (=a very large number of them)
There have been any number of magazine articles about the celebrity couple.
bring the number to 25, 120 etc
This will bring the number of jobs lost at the company to 85.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

number
noun
1.
BAD: The number of heavy smokers are decreasing.
GOOD: The number of heavy smokers is decreasing.

Usage Note:
the number of ... + singular verb: 'The number of people claiming unemployment benefit has risen by 5 per cent in the last three months.'

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2.
BAD: A large number of cars was parked outside the school.
GOOD: A large number of cars were parked outside the school.

Usage Note:
a number of ... + plural verb: 'A number of viewers have complained about the excessive violence in the film.'

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3.
BAD: Harsher punishments will not reduce the number of crime.
GOOD: Harsher punishments will not reduce the number of crimes.
GOOD: Harsher punishments will not reduce the amount of crime.

Usage Note:
See note at AMOUNT 1 (amount)

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4.
BAD: In England I met a big number of women in senior positions.
GOOD: In England I met a large number of women in senior positions.

Usage Note:
a large/considerable number (NOT big ): 'A large number of fatal accidents are caused by drunken drivers.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

music the sounds made by musical instruments or people singing:
The music was really loud.
tune the main series of musical notes in a piece of music:
a folk song with a pretty tune
melody the main series of notes in a piece of music that has many notes being played at the same time, especially in classical music:
The soprano sang the melody.
harmony the chords or notes in a piece of music that support the melody:
the rich harmonies in the symphony
piece (also piece of music) an arrangement of musical notes – use this about music without words:
It’s a difficult piece to play.
composition formal a piece of music that someone has written:
This is one of his own compositions.
work a piece of music, especially classical music:
one of Mozart’s best-known works
track one of the songs or pieces of music on a CD:
the album’s title track
number a piece of popular music that forms part of a concert or show:
the show’s first number

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

song a short piece of music with words that you sing:
We sang songs around the campfire.
The song was written by John Lennon.
track one of the songs on a CD or record:
Track three is my favourite one.
number a song that forms part of a performance of several songs:
The show was brilliant, from the opening number to the end.
tune the notes in a song, without the words:
I recognize the tune, but I can’t remember what it’s called.
melody the main series of notes in a piece of music that has several parts which are played together:
The song has a simple melody and beautiful lyrics.
verse a set of sentences that make up one part of a song:
She sang the first verse of ‘Amazing Grace’.
chorus a set of sentences in a song that is repeated after each verse:
Most of the kids were able to join in the chorus.
national anthem the official song of a country, which is sung or played on public occasions:
Before the match, everyone stood up to sing the national anthem.
hymn /hɪm/ a religious song that is sung in a church:
What hymns did you choose for your wedding?
At funerals people often sing the hymn ‘Abide with Me’.
carol a traditional Christmas song:
We went around the houses, singing carols.
folk song a traditional song from a particular area:
an old Mexican folk song
ballad a long folk song which tells a story:
a traditional ballad about a man who is dreaming of his home in Ireland
lullaby a slow quiet song sung to children to make them go to sleep:
She sat by the child’s bed, softly singing a lullaby.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

number
ˈnʌmbə
See: a number , any number , days are numbered , get one's number , hot number , quite a few or quite a number

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲