quantity

[ kwon-ti-tee ]

noun

, plural quan·ti·ties.

1. a particular or indefinite amount of anything:

   a small quantity of milk;

   the ocean's vast quantity of fish.

2. an exact or specified amount or measure:

   Mix the ingredients in the quantities called for.

3. a considerable or great amount:

   to extract ore in quantity.

4. Mathematics.
   1. the property of magnitude involving comparability with other magnitudes.
   2. something having magnitude, or size, extent, amount, or the like.
   3. magnitude, size, volume, area, or length.
5. Music. the length or duration of a note.
6. Logic. the character of a proposition as singular, universal, particular, or mixed, according to the presence or absence of certain kinds of quantifiers.
7. that amount, degree, etc., in terms of which another is greater or lesser.
8. Prosody, Phonetics. the relative duration or length of a sound or a syllable, with respect to the time spent in pronouncing it; length.
9. Law. the nature of an estate as affected by its duration in time.

quantity

/ ˈkwɒntɪtɪ /

noun

1. 1. a specified or definite amount, weight, number, etc
   2. ( as modifier )

      a quantity estimate

2. the aspect or property of anything that can be measured, weighed, counted, etc
3. a large or considerable amount
4. maths an entity having a magnitude that may be denoted by a numerical expression
5. physics a specified magnitude or amount; the product of a number and a unit
6. logic the characteristic of a proposition dependent on whether it is a universal or particular statement, considering all or only part of a class
7. prosody the relative duration of a syllable or the vowel in it

quantity

/ kwŏn′tĭ-tē /

1. Something, such as a number or symbol that represents a number, on which a mathematical operation is performed.

Usage

The use of a plural noun after quantity of as in a large quantity of bananas was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable

Word History and Origins

Origin of quantity¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English quantite, from Old French, from Latin quantitās, from quant(us) “how much” + -itās -ity

Word History and Origins

Origin of quantity¹

C14: from Old French quantité, from Latin quantitās extent, amount, from quantus how much

Idioms and Phrases

see unknown quantity .

Example Sentences

But several former military and Pentagon officials said that Hegseth was not a known quantity in the Washington defence community.

From BBC

Police also launched an investigation after a group of young people were spotted taking a quantity of fireworks from a vehicle that same night.

From BBC

A 25-year-old man was arrested and a "significant quantity" of fireworks seized after a search of a van in Drumchapel.

From BBC

A 25-year-old man was arrested and a "significant quantity" of fireworks seized after a search of a van in the Drumchapel.

From BBC

The quantity of motion in a moving body.

From Slate

Related Words

• abundance
• batch
• bulk
• capacity
• length
• load
• pile
• portion
• quota
• size
• sum
• variety
• volume