any number of

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Many; also, no particular amount of. The meaning here depends on the context. I can give you any number of reasons for John's absence means I can offer many reasons. Any number of subscribers might stay home means that an unknown number will not attend.

QUIZ

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Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.

Question 1 of 9

Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?

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Words nearby any number of

any day, anyhoo, anyhow, any longer, anymore, any number of, any old, anyon, anyone, anyone's guess, anyplace

How to use any number of in a sentence

“Our members continue to face a number of challenges,” she said.
The Republican War on Kale|Patricia Murphy|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The number of dissenters though is unprecedented in the modern era.
Democrats Accidentally Save Boehner From Republican Coup|Ben Jacobs, Jackie Kucinich|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Starting under Theodore Roosevelt and Howard Taft, embassies headed by career diplomats increased in number.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The number of diplomats was pitiful (45 appointees in 1860), as was the amount of money allocated to them.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Jett sees this number as a marker of how much the president allows professionals to do the job.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The country is well inhabited, for it contains fifty-one cities, near a hundred walled towns, and a great number of villages.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
We had six field-pieces, but we only took four, harnessed wit twice the usual number of horses.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
There are a number of bacilli, called acid-fast bacilli, which stain in the same way as the tubercle bacillus.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Five of the number had studied with Liszt before, and the young men are artists already before the public.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
I do not think the average number of passengers on a corresponding route in our country could be so few as twenty.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley