What does number mean?

What does number mean?. The world's largest and most trusted free online dictionary: definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more.

What does number mean? - The Free Dictionary

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[n] the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals(he had a number of chores to do the number of parameters is small the figure was about a thousand)[v] add up in number or quantity(The bills amounted to $2,000 The bill came to $2,000)[n] a concept

number

number - The Free Dictionary

[n] the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
(he had a number of chores to do the number of parameters is small the figure was about a thousand)

[v] add up in number or quantity
(The bills amounted to $2,000 The bill came to $2,000)

[n] a concept of quantity involving zero and units
(every number has a unique position in the sequence)

[v] give numbers to
(You should number the pages of the thesis)

[n] a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program
(he did his act three times every evening she had a catchy little routine it was one of the best numbers he ever did)

[v] enumerate
(We must number the names of the great mathematicians)

[n] the number is used in calling a particular telephone
(he has an unlisted number)

[v] put into a group
(The academy counts several Nobel Prize winners among its members)

[n] a symbol used to represent a number
(he learned to write the numerals before he went to school)

[v] determine the number or amount of
(Can you count the books on your shelf? Count your change)

[n] one of a series published periodically
(she found an old issue of the magazine in her dentist's waiting room)

[v] place a limit on the number of

[n] a select company of people
(I hope to become one of their number before I die)

[n] a numeral or string of numerals that is used for identification
(she refused to give them her Social Security number)

[n] a clothing measurement
(a number 13 shoe)

[n] the grammatical category for the forms of nouns and pronouns and verbs that are used depending on the number of entities involved (singular or dual or plural)
(in English the subject and the verb must agree in number)

[n] an item of merchandise offered for sale
(she preferred the black nylon number this sweater is an all-wool number)

Other vocabulary

n, n'djamena, n-th, n-type semiconductor, n. y. stock exchange, n.b., na, na-dene, naan, nab, nabalus, nabalus alba, nabalus serpentarius, nablus, nabob, nabokov, naboom, nabothian cyst, nabothian follicle, nabothian gland, nabu, nabumetone, nac, nacelle, nacho, nacimiento, nacre, nacreous, nacreous cloud, nad, u, u-boat, u-drive, u-shaped, u-turn, u. s. air force, u. s. army, u. s. army special forces, u. s. coast guard, u. s. code, u.k., u.s., u.s. army criminal investigation laboratory, u.s. congress, u.s. constitution, u.s. government, u.s. house, u.s. house of representatives, u.s. mint, u.s. national library of medicine, u.s. senate, u.s. waters, u.s.a., u308, uakari, ubermensch, ubiety, ubiquinone, ubiquitous, ubiquitousness

Dictionary

A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc. It is a lexicographical reference that shows inter-relationships among the data.

A broad distinction is made between general and specialized dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include words in specialist fields, rather than a complete range of words in the language. Lexical items that describe concepts in specific fields are usually called terms instead of words, although there is no consensus whether lexicology and terminology are two different fields of study. In theory, general dictionaries are supposed[citation needed] to be semasiological, mapping word to definition, while specialized dictionaries are supposed to be onomasiological, first identifying concepts and then establishing the terms used to designate them. In practice, the two approaches are used for both types. There are other types of dictionaries that do not fit neatly into the above distinction, for instance bilingual (translation) dictionaries, dictionaries of synonyms (thesauri), and rhyming dictionaries. The word dictionary (unqualified) is usually understood to refer to a general purpose monolingual dictionary.

There is also a contrast between prescriptive or descriptive dictionaries; the former reflect what is seen as correct use of the language while the latter reflect recorded actual use. Stylistic indications (e.g. "informal" or "vulgar") in many modern dictionaries are also considered by some to be less than objectively descriptive.

The first recorded dictionaries date back to Sumerian times around 2300 BCE, in the form of bilingual dictionaries, and the oldest surviving monolingual dictionaries are Chinese dictionaries c. 3rd century BCE. The first purely English alphabetical dictionary was A Table Alphabeticall, written in 1604, and monolingual dictionaries in other languages also began appearing in Europe at around this time. The systematic study of dictionaries as objects of scientific interest arose as a 20th-century enterprise, called lexicography, and largely initiated by Ladislav Zgusta. The birth of the new discipline was not without controversy, with the practical dictionary-makers being sometimes accused by others of having an "astonishing" lack of method and critical-self reflection.