four

[ fawr, fohr ]

noun

1. a cardinal number, three plus one.
2. a symbol of this number, 4 or IV or IIII.
3. a set of this many persons or things.
4. a playing card, die face, or half of a domino face with four pips.
5. fours, Jazz. alternate four-bar passages, as played in sequence by different soloists:

   with guitar and piano trading fours.

6. Automotive.
   1. an automobile powered by a four-cylinder engine.
   2. the engine itself.

adjective

1. amounting to four in number.

four

/ fɔː /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
2. a numeral, 4, IV, etc, representing this number
3. something representing, represented by, or consisting of four units, such as a playing card with four symbols on it
4. Also calledfour o'clock four hours after noon or midnight
5. cricket
   1. a shot that crosses the boundary after hitting the ground
   2. the four runs scored for such a shot
6. rowing
   1. a racing shell propelled by four oarsmen pulling one oar each, with or without a cox
   2. the crew of such a shell

determiner

1. 1. amounting to four

      four times

      four thousand eggs

   2. ( as pronoun )

      four are ready

Word History and Origins

Origin of four¹

before 1000; Middle English four, fower, Old English fēower; cognate with Old High German fior ( German vier ), Gothic fidwor; akin to Latin quattuor, Greek tésseres ( Attic téttares )

Word History and Origins

Origin of four¹

Old English fēower ; related to Old Frisian fiūwer , Old Norse fjōrir , Old High German fior , Latin quattuor , Greek tessares , Sanskrit catur

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on all fours. all fours ( def 3 ).

More idioms and phrases containing four

• between you and me and (the four walls)
• on all fours

Example Sentences

There are four photos there of representative presidential candidates.

From The Daily Beast

Four weeks after the injections, all 20 of the participants had developed the antibodies needed to stave off the infection.

From The Daily Beast

After four or five months of casual interaction, they realized they both had lost a young parent to cancer.

From The Daily Beast

The injunction, she argued, only applies to these four plaintiffs—not to anyone else.

From The Daily Beast

Each CAP, also known as an “orbit,” consists on four aircraft.

From The Daily Beast

A little boy of four was moved to passionate grief at the sight of a dead dog taken from a pond.

From Project Gutenberg

In cross-section the burrows varied from round (three inches in diameter) to oval (three inches high and four inches wide).

From Project Gutenberg

Before the spinet a bench was placed about four feet below the keys, and I was put upon the bench.

From Project Gutenberg

We had six field-pieces, but we only took four, harnessed wit twice the usual number of horses.

From Project Gutenberg

The Seven-score and four on the six middle Bells, the treble leading, and the tenor lying behind every change, makes good Musick.

From Project Gutenberg