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

He was arrested a month after the victim died, and investigators found large quantities of other drugs in his vehicle, including ketamine, according to court records.

From Los Angeles Times

In this metaphor, the enhancers would be responsible for the quantity of ingredients, not the type of ingredients.

From Science Daily

These transfers violate UN sanctions, which ban countries from selling oil to North Korea, except in small quantities, in an attempt to stifle its economy to prevent it from further developing nuclear weapons.

From BBC

These produce quantities are about nine times lower for children and four times lower for adults than the typical intake of fruits and vegetables.

From Science Daily

"One challenge would be to demonstrate techniques to produce spin-polarized fuel in large quantities and then store them. There's a whole new technology area that would open up."

From Science Daily

Related Words

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