natural number

noun

1

: the number 1 or any number (such as 3, 12, 432) obtained by adding 1 to it one or more times : a positive integer

2

: any of the positive integers together with 0 : a nonnegative integer

Examples of natural number in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Up front, there is no natural number nine. — Sam Leveridge, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026

The number 3, for example, is simultaneously an integer, a natural number, and a real number. — Quanta Magazine, 8 June 2026

Instead, there will always be statements about natural numbers that are either true or false but that are unprovable within the system in question. — Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2025

Just as molecules are composed of atoms, in math, every natural number can be broken down into its prime factors—those that are divisible only by themselves and 1. — Byzack Savitsky, science.org, 29 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for natural number

• cumber
• lumber
• slumber
• umber
• encumber
• outnumber
• renumber

Kids Definition

natural number

noun

: the number 1 or any number (as 3, 12, or 432) obtained by adding 1 to it one or more times : a positive whole number