umpteen

adjective ump·teen \ ˈəm(p)-ˌtēn , ˌəm(p)-ˈtēn \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of umpteen

: very many : indefinitely numerous

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umpteenth

play \ˈəm(p)-ˌtēn(t)th, ˌəm(p)-ˈtēn(t)th\ adjective

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umpteen was our Word of the Day on 05/21/2015. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of umpteen from the Web

If farmers’ fears come to fruition, consumers could see prices go up not only on agricultural products, but also on the umpteen products that hide corn and soybean inputs such as gas.

— hallie detrick, Fortune, "The Justice Department Is Going to Let Bayer Buy Monsanto. Here's Why It Matters," 10 Apr. 2018
Never mind the umpteen hours of coverage NBC is sending back from South Korea for broadcast TV, cable’s NBCSN, USA Network, CNBC and the Olympics Channel as well as NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports mobile app.

— phil rosenthal, chicagotribune.com, "By foot, CTA or Uber: NBC driven to ensure ignoring Olympics is no snap," 8 Feb. 2018
And for the umpteenth time in the past umpteen years, state and local officials have decided to focus on third-grade reading without doing anything to help school districts improve third-grade reading.

— rochelle riley, Detroit Free Press, "Riley: Duggan touts triumphs in State of the City — but fixing schools is crucial," 6 Mar. 2018
Aruba With umpteen awards like TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice for Romance, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort graces Eagle Beach on the western shore of the island.

— melanie reffes, USA TODAY, "Best pools in the Caribbean, 2018 edition," 20 Feb. 2018
The seed bank has cataloged, propagated and conserved ancient vegetable varieties from rare chiles to umpteen varieties of tepary beans.

— elaine glusac, chicagotribune.com, "Tucson chefs find tasty ways to honor 'City of Gastronomy' tradition," 7 Feb. 2018
Enterprising types had—and have—umpteen ways to sneak money out, from overpaying for imports to smuggling cash across the border in luggage.

— The Economist, "Stable handsHow China won the battle of the yuan," 11 Jan. 2018
Sure, Scheer, his friends, and the umpteen others who love The Room are laughing at Wiseau.

— hillary busis, HWD, "Paul Scheer’s Guide to Making a Great Bad Movie," 1 Dec. 2017
It’s been painted umpteen times and there’s a Playboy insignia on it.

— david sedaris, The New Yorker, "The IHOP Years," 14 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'umpteen.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

I'll go to bed and I'll not get up for umpty-eleven months. You know the feeling. The speaker here is war-weary Bill, a character in Patrick MacGill's early 20th-century novel The Great Push. His "umpty" originated as military slang around 1905 and stood for an indefinite number, generally largish. (It was probably created by analogy to actual numbers such as "twenty.") Soon, there followed "umpteen," blending "umpty" and "-teen." "Umpteen" usually describes an indefinite and large number or amount, while the related "umpteenth" is used for the latest or last in an indefinitely numerous series. We only occasionally use "umpty" these days (and even more rarely "umptieth"), but you're bound to hear or read "umpteen" and "umpteenth" any number of times.