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
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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
And this year, readers crowned a new number one favorite.
—John Wogan, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for number one
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Former President Jimmy Carter, who died in December 2024, ranked number one.
—Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
And this year, readers crowned a new number one favorite.
—John Wogan, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for number one
Cite this Entry
“Number one.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/number%20one. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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