quantity

[kwon-ti-tee]

noun

plural

quantities 

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

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

Much of the conversation centred on the quantity of warm-up matches, rather than the quality.

Read more on BBC

They later relented, removing duties on certain items not produced in the U.S., or available in sufficient quantities from domestic suppliers to meet demand.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

For years, the U.S. led in quality while China won on quantity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But the deals will exempt products that cannot be produced in the US "in sufficient quantities," such as coffee.

Read more on BBC

Remember, until relatively recently, the EU hadn’t produced the vast quantities of war materiel for a long time.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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