plural number ones
1
a
: one's own interests or welfare : oneself
It's time to take care of number one
—often written No. 1Looking out for No. 1 is not a selfish thing when it comes to rescuing someone, area firefighters learned.—
Cathy Spaulding
Cathy Spaulding
b
: one that is first in rank, importance, or influence
Who's number one in this office?
Madonna has just made a big announcement. The "Material Girl" … will release not one, but two new collections. One will feature 50 number ones with the other being a 16-track version of the album.—Edward Pevos
—often written No. 1Edward PevosThe Texas Tech men's golf team, which has finished among the top three in each of its three tournaments this season, is No. 1 in the GolfStat ranking that was released Wednesday.—Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal (online)
Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal (online)2
informal
: liquid waste from the body : urine
—used euphemistically
When astronauts go number one, a slight vacuum in the toilet pulls urine into a low-pressure chamber, which forces the water to evaporate.—Kaitlin Sullivan
compare number two
Kaitlin Sullivan1
: first in rank, importance, or influence : foremost
cancer is the country's number one killer
—often written No. 1
2
: of highest or of high quality
Synonyms
Adjective
Examples of number one in a Sentence
Noun
Who's number one in this office?
Getting the car fixed is number one on my list of priorities.
I'll tell you why we can't go on a vacation: number one, we can't afford it, and number two, we'll miss my sister's party.
Her movie is currently number one at the box office.
When the goal was scored, the fans started to chant, “We're number one, we're number one.”
I've been taking care of other people for too long. It's time for me to take care of number one.
Adjective
The book is the company's number one seller.
Rule number one is don't get caught!
He's public enemy number one: the nation's most wanted criminal.
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Recent Examples on the WebJem Aswad, Variety, 5 Dec. 2023
What is your number one piece of advice for a nervous flyer?
—Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Dec. 2023
Despite inflation being lower in Asia compared to other regions, in addition to Singapore at number one, another Asian city made it to the top 10: Hong Kong, which secured the fifth spot.
—Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
Museum-goers can see the white suit James wore at the 2003 NBA Draft, during which the Cleveland Cavaliers selected James as the number one overall pick.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Nov. 2023
And Latin music has remained a force on streaming — so much that 2023 seems to be the biggest year for number one Latin hits on Spotify.
—Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 29 Nov. 2023
In 2021, Buffett called poor management the number one threat to a company.
—Jane Thier, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2023
But her extraordinary intelligence earned her the maximum score of 921, number one in the entire nation, in the Enlace test, Mexico’s version of the SAT.
—Tommy Calle, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2023
Just be sure of your shooting lanes, and make safety the number one priority.
—Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 22 Nov. 2023
Donna St. George, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Mar. 2023
Talked about number one in the country a year ago and some of our championships.
—Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 15 Mar. 2023
And North Carolina, last year's runner up and this year's preseason number one, missed out entirely.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2023
The question will be, number one is, what are the excesses beyond the insured amounts and the ability to deal with those and the companies, in terms of meeting payrolls?
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2023
Depositors and workers in the companies whose deposits are in that bank need to be job number one.
—CBS News, 12 Mar. 2023
The city's even earned the rating of number one most stressful for workers in the U.S., according to a recent report.
—Michael Murney, Chron, 8 Mar. 2023
The number one priority in those situations is the health of the player.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2023
The Moon in your lucky 5th house is making FUN your number one priority, but when Luna coordinates with luxe Venus in your materialistic 2nd house, all your fun may require a lot more funds than anticipated.
—Chicago Tribune, 1 Mar. 2023
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Noun
But the basics are, number one, do your homework and find out who’s who, because there are some very charming crooks.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Dec. 2023
What is your number one piece of advice for a nervous flyer?
—Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Dec. 2023
Despite inflation being lower in Asia compared to other regions, in addition to Singapore at number one, another Asian city made it to the top 10: Hong Kong, which secured the fifth spot.
—Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
Museum-goers can see the white suit James wore at the 2003 NBA Draft, during which the Cleveland Cavaliers selected James as the number one overall pick.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Nov. 2023
And Latin music has remained a force on streaming — so much that 2023 seems to be the biggest year for number one Latin hits on Spotify.
—Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 29 Nov. 2023
In 2021, Buffett called poor management the number one threat to a company.
—Jane Thier, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2023
But her extraordinary intelligence earned her the maximum score of 921, number one in the entire nation, in the Enlace test, Mexico’s version of the SAT.
—Tommy Calle, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2023
Just be sure of your shooting lanes, and make safety the number one priority.
—Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 22 Nov. 2023
Adjective
Our number one priority is just to get the behavior of these companies to change.
—Donna St. George, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Mar. 2023
Talked about number one in the country a year ago and some of our championships.
—Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 15 Mar. 2023
And North Carolina, last year's runner up and this year's preseason number one, missed out entirely.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2023
The question will be, number one is, what are the excesses beyond the insured amounts and the ability to deal with those and the companies, in terms of meeting payrolls?
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2023
Depositors and workers in the companies whose deposits are in that bank need to be job number one.
—CBS News, 12 Mar. 2023
The city's even earned the rating of number one most stressful for workers in the U.S., according to a recent report.
—Michael Murney, Chron, 8 Mar. 2023
The number one priority in those situations is the health of the player.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2023
The Moon in your lucky 5th house is making FUN your number one priority, but when Luna coordinates with luxe Venus in your materialistic 2nd house, all your fun may require a lot more funds than anticipated.
—Chicago Tribune, 1 Mar. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'number one.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near number one
Cite this Entry
“Number one.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/number%20one. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.
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