cardinal number
Americannoun
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cardinal numbers
plural
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Also called cardinal numeral. any of the numbers that express amount, as one, two, three, etc. (distinguished from ordinal number).
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Also called potency, power. Mathematics. a number or symbol analogous to the number of elements in a finite set, being identical for two sets that can be placed into one-to-one correspondence.
The cardinal number of the set a1, a2, … an is n.
noun
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Sometimes shortened to: cardinal. a number denoting quantity but not order in a set
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maths logic
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a measure of the size of a set that does not take account of the order of its members Compare natural number
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a particular number having this function
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A number, such as 3, 11, or 412, used in counting to indicate quantity but not order.
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Compare ordinal number
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cardinal number
First recorded in 1585–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The cardinal number 𝔡 is defined as the smallest possible size of a set of continuous functions sufficient to dominate every possible continuous function.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 16, 2021
For every infinite cardinal ℵa, there is a next larger cardinal number ℵa+1.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 16, 2021
HUNDRED, the English name of the cardinal number equal to ten times ten.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 8 "Hudson River" to "Hurstmonceaux" by Various
Two equally numerous collections appear to have something in common: this something is supposed to be their cardinal number.
From Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays by Bertrand Russell
That is, without its complete expression, which would be analogous to the self-contradictory task of finding a greatest cardinal number, there can be no cut in the line which is symbolized by it.
From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Boyd H. Bode
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
