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• six
  six

  noun

  a cardinal number, five plus one.
• Six
  Six

  noun

  a group of six young composers in France, who from about 1916 formed a temporary association as a result of interest in neoclassicism and in the music of Satie and the poetry of Cocteau. Its members were Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Francis Poulenc, Georges Auric, Louis Durey, and Germaine Tailleferre

six

American  

[siks] / sɪks /

noun

• sixes
  plural

1. a cardinal number, five plus one.

2. a symbol for this number, as 6 or VI.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. a playing card, die face, or half of a domino face with six pips.

5. Cricket. a hit in which the ball crosses the boundary line of the field without a bounce, counting six runs for the batsman.

6. an automobile powered by a six-cylinder engine.

7. a six-cylinder engine.

8. Slang.

   1. the area directly behind a person; back.

      Check your six—there's a hottie approaching.

   2. the area directly behind a person in motion; tail.

      The pilot had an enemy plane on his six.

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adjective

1. amounting to six in number.

idioms

1. get / have someone’s six, back.

2. at sixes and sevens,

   1. in disorder or confusion.

   2. in disagreement or dispute.

3. watch one’s six, back.

six ¹ British  

/ sɪks /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one See also number

2. a numeral, 6, VI, etc, representing this number

3. something representing, represented by, or consisting of six units, such as a playing card with six symbols on it

4. Also called: six o'clock. six hours after noon or midnight

5. Also called: sixer. cricket

   1. a stroke in which the ball crosses the boundary without bouncing

   2. the six runs scored for such a stroke

6. a division of a Brownie Guide or Cub Scout pack

7. 1. in disagreement

   2. in a state of confusion

8. informal to upset or overwhelm someone completely; stun

9. a situation in which the alternatives are considered equivalent

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to six

      six nations

   2. ( as pronoun )

      set the table for six

Six ² British  

/ sis /

noun

1. a group of six young composers in France, who from about 1916 formed a temporary association as a result of interest in neoclassicism and in the music of Satie and the poetry of Cocteau. Its members were Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Francis Poulenc, Georges Auric, Louis Durey, and Germaine Tailleferre

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six More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing six

• Joe six-pack
• at sixes and sevens
• deep six

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sixes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of six

First recorded before 900; Middle English six, sex, Old English siex, syx, seox, sex; cognate with Dutch zes, Low German ses, German sechs, Old Norse sex, Gothic saihs, Latin sex, Greek héx Sanskrit ṣaṭ-

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

six Six sixes

And more than six decades later, with the release of the latest Beatles box set, “Rubber Soul” — incredible as it may seem — has never sounded better.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

In one experiment, participants heard six short alarm melodies played with either conventional electronic tones or a more musical, xylophone-like sound.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

And he has been intercepted six times already in 2026 after getting picked off only eight times total last season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

The 407-foot-tall rocket is embarking on a nearly 10-hour mission in which it is to complete six orbits around the Earth before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

Not only was he vulnerable for the first time in six years, but with every passing moment, it felt as if the life were being sucked from his bones.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Six hydropower projects under construction, with a combined capacity of 508 MW, were also damaged.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Six forces responded to say e-bikes they had seized had been sold, including large forces such as West Midlands Police and Police Scotland.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Six months later, he has yet to recreate that Grapefruit League magic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Six researchers filed the class-action lawsuit in June 2025 with legal help from Polsky, Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and outside attorneys.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Six minutes later, all of their work would be undone.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Sri Lanka managed just two sixes in their innings compared to England's 10, with it being only the seventh time their top five have all hit at least one in T20 internationals.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

He hit as many sixes as Sir Geoffrey Boycott did in his 108-Test career.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Razaullah's nine sixes is the joint-most ever in a Test innings in England.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

The right-hander, whose best Test score remains 91, countered excessive seam movement and uneven bounce by showing attacking intent, hitting six fours and two sixes.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

I think I got the rows right, but I got all the feather lines too close or something, and so when I curved them around they looked like a kid in kindergarten practicing his sixes.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt