eight

American  

[eyt] / eɪt /

noun

• eights
  plural

1. a cardinal number, seven plus one.

2. a symbol for this number, as 8 or VIII.

3. a set of this many persons or things, as the crew of an eight-oared racing shell.

4. a playing card the face of which bears eight pips.

5. Informal.

   1. an automobile powered by an eight-cylinder engine.

   2. an eight-cylinder engine.

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adjective

1. amounting to eight in number.

eight British  

/ eɪt /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of one and seven and the product of two and four See also number

2. a numeral, 8, VIII, etc, representing this number

3. music the numeral 8 used as the lower figure in a time signature to indicate that the beat is measured in quavers

4. the amount or quantity that is one greater than seven

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

6. rowing

   1. a racing shell propelled by eight oarsmen

   2. the crew of such a shell

7. Also called: eight o'clock.  eight hours after noon or midnight

8. slang to be drunk

9. See figure of eight

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to eight

   2. ( as pronoun )

      I could only find eight

eight Idioms  

1. see behind the eight ball.

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Usage

Spelling tips for 8 The word eight (8) is hard to spell because it is not spelled the way it sounds [ eyt ]. There are a number of silent letters. How to spell eight: The easiest way to remember how to spell eight is with the classic mnemonic device: “I before E, except after C, except when it’s pronounced like a long A, as in neighbor and weigh.” The collection of letters eigh often makes a long A sound. To this, you simply add the t at the end: eight.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• eights
  plural

Etymology

Origin of eight

before 1000; Middle English eighte, Old English ( e ) ahta; cognate with Dutch acht, Old Saxon, Old High German ahto ( German acht ), Old Norse ātta, Gothic ahtau, Latin octō, Greek oktṓ, Old Irish ocht, Welsh wyth, Breton eiz, Tocharian B okt, Lithuanian aštuonì, Albanian tetë, Armenian uth, Persian hasht, Sanskrit aṣṭáu; apparently an old dual in form, but not clear of what

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eight eights

County firefighters helped an international team rescue a man trapped for eight days under a collapsed building after devastating Venezuela earthquakes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

"I've done eight sessions a week consistently throughout the exam period and not compromised my studies with the support of my teachers."

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

BYD launched its first dedicated car carrier in 2024 and now has a fleet of eight vessels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The matriarch shares a sweltering tent with 18 others, mostly relatives, with eight minors among them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

It looked just big enough to fit eight or nine people.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

We gather in sixes and eights for dinner at places chosen more for their decibels than their desserts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Looping mischievously around one another, befezzed Shriners do figure eights on their tiny motorcycles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

Goddesses on roller skates glide in buttery figure eights across the glass-fiber-reinforced concrete.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026

It's plausible Ekitike could adapt into that hybrid eight/10 position, playing alongside Wirtz much in the way Pep Guardiola has historically used two aggressive eights in front of a number six.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2025

Even so, she had to start over several times, and not only because of the tricky sevens and eights of the multiplication tables.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood