number 1 of 2

Definition of numbernext
1
as in digit
a character used to represent a mathematical value asked him to write out the equation in numbers, not letters

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2
as in composition
a literary, musical, or artistic production a doomsday novel that turns out to be one of those it-was-all-a-dream numbers

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3
as in act
a performance regularly presented by an individual or group a modern dance number

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4
5
as in feat
an act of notable skill, strength, or cleverness a stunning gymnastics number that really impressed the judges

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6
as in calculation
numbers plural the act or process of performing mathematical operations to find a value if you believe the president's numbers, we can afford these new programs and still have tax cuts

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number

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of number
Noun
Same with any number of tackles. Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026 Accessibility The hotel is fully accessible and has a number of accessible bedrooms with wide lifts to all floors. Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
Verb
The 25 spacecraft added to SpaceX's megaconstellation, which numbers more than 10,275 satellites circling the planet. Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 20 Apr. 2026 The days when a seafaring nation could rely on a blue-water fleet of major combat ships numbering less than one or two hundred hulls is over. David Szondy april 20, New Atlas, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for number
Recent Examples of Synonyms for number
Noun
  • The case involves a 2019 class-action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by shopper Brian Keim, who alleged that receipts from Trader Joe's stores displayed the first six and last four digits of his credit card, increasing the risk of identity theft.
    Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
  • If that’s true, the entire psychological burden of the piece has been distilled into that one strained digit.
    Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • These ten compositions depend on lights in darkness, most commonly generated by candles, by the moon, or—as in the most famous painting here, An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (circa 1767)—by both.
    Julian Bell, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
  • The songs are contextualized a little and, among other gentle pleasures, Kole and Galante explore a little of the structural complexity of Bacharach’s constantly shape-shifting music, an outlier among pop compositions and indicative of the composer’s technical genius.
    Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The jury also found that Esperanza-Pacheco committed a forcible lewd act upon a child during the commission of a first-degree residential burglary, prosecutors said.
    Jason Green, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2026
  • This act of contrition is legible in East Asia, but slightly awkward when performed by Western actors.
    Chang Che, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • As zonky cross-generational ciphers go, the group’s debut, Strictly 4 the Scythe, is no Hypnotize Camp Posse, the amalgam of Three 6 Mafia and a grip of artists signed to their Hypnotize Minds label in the early 2000s.
    Dylan Green, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The still-unidentified Zodiac Killer, who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s, frequently sent threats, demands and ciphers to multiple local papers — namely the San Francisco Chronicle.
    Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • That’s a feat Ilginis hadn’t duplicated until Thursday when the sophomore midfielder scored four goals in an 8-1 win over Richards.
    Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Columbus has an average home price around $250,000, Zillow data shows, and Cleveland offers ownership costs that are actually lower than rent—a rare feat in today’s market.
    Sydney Lake, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • And that's when their calculations revealed that these animals were probably gargantuan — well larger than the giant Pacific octopus, today's biggest member of the family whose arm span often exceeds 13 feet.
    Ari Daniel, NPR, 24 Apr. 2026
  • The team evaluated the size of the ancient octopuses using allometric calculation—a method that used the proportional growth rates of modern, long-bodied finned octopuses to extrapolate the size of their extinct relatives.
    Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • In addition, Commissioner Cathy Yuhas said the company’s consultant counted traffic on a Tuesday rather than during a busier time.
    Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 19 Apr. 2026
  • The instructors at the Atomic Ballroom, based in Costa Mesa, led the dance record effort, giving a step-by-step instruction to those who showed up, the Guinness World Record adjudicator counting the crowd.
    Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Tech giant Qualcomm had the most open job postings in February with 672, said state data that aggregates job postings during the month.
    Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
  • Polling from the New York Times, which aggregates multiple political polls from multiple sources, finds Jackson leading by anywhere from 8 to 15 points in some polls, while Jones leads by anywhere from 7 to 10 points in others.
    Irene Wright, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Number.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/number. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.

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