count

¹ American  

[kount] / kaʊnt /

verb (used with object)

• counts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• counted,
  past participle,  past
• counting
  present participle

1. to check over (the separate units or groups of a collection) one by one to determine the total number; add up; enumerate.

   He counted his tickets and found he had ten.

2. to reckon up; calculate; compute.

3. to list or name the numerals up to.

   Close your eyes and count ten.

4. to include in a reckoning; take into account.

   There are five of us here, counting me.

5. to consider or regard.

   He counted himself lucky to have survived the crash.

6. Archaic. to reckon to the credit of another; ascribe; impute.

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verb (used without object)

• counts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• counted,
  past participle,  past
• counting
  present participle

1. to count the items of a collection one by one in order to determine the total.

   She counted three times before she was satisfied that none was missing.

2. to list or name numerals in order.

   to count to 100 by fives.

3. to reckon numerically.

4. to have a specified numerical value.

5. to be accounted or worth something.

   That first try didn't count—I was just practicing.

6. to have merit, importance, value, etc.; deserve consideration.

   Every bit of help counts.

7. to have worth; amount (usually followed byfor ).

   Intelligence counts for something.

noun

1. the act of counting; enumeration; reckoning; calculation.

   A count of hands showed 23 in favor and 16 opposed.

2. the number representing the result of a process of counting; the total number.

3. an accounting.

4. Baseball. the number of balls and strikes, usually designated in that order, that have been called on a batter during a turn at bat.

   a count of two balls and one strike.

5. Law. a distinct charge or theory of action in a declaration or indictment.

   He was found guilty on two counts of theft.

6. Textiles.

   1. a number representing the size or quality of yarn, especially the number based on the relation of weight to length of the yarn and indicating its degree of coarseness.

   2. the number of warp and filling threads per square inch in woven material, representing the texture of the fabric.

7. Bowling. the number of pins struck down by the first ball rolled by a bowler in the frame following a spare and included in the score for the frame in which the spare was made.

8. Physics.

   1. a single ionizing reaction registered by an ionization chamber, as in a Geiger counter.

   2. the indication of the total number of ionizing reactions registered by an ionization chamber in a given period of time.

9. Also called the full count.  Boxing. the count, the calling aloud by the referee of the seconds from 1 to 10 while a downed boxer remains off his feet. Completion of the count signifies a knockout, which the referee then declares.

   A hard right sent the challenger down for the count.

10. Archaic. regard; notice.

adjective

1. noting a number of items determined by an actual count.

   The box is labeled 50 count.

verb phrase

1. count off (often used imperatively, as in the army) to count aloud by turns, as to arrange positions within a group of persons; divide or become divided into groups.

   Close up ranks and count off from the left by threes.

2. count in to include.

   If you're going to the beach, count me in.

3. count out

   1. Boxing. to declare (a boxer) a loser because of inability to stand up before the referee has counted 10 seconds.

   2. to exclude.

      When it comes to mountain climbing, count me out.

   3. to count and apportion or give out.

      She counted out four cookies to each child.

   4. to disqualify (ballots) illegally in counting, in order to control the election.

4. count down to count backward, usually by ones, from a given integer to zero.

5. count on / upon to depend or rely on.

   You can always count on him to lend you money.

idioms

1. count coup. coup.

count ² American  

[kount] / kaʊnt /

noun

1. (in some European countries) a nobleman equivalent in rank to an English earl.

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count ¹ British  

/ kaʊnt /

verb

1. to add up or check (each unit in a collection) in order to ascertain the sum; enumerate

   count your change

2. (tr) to recite numbers in ascending order up to and including

3. to take into account or include

   we must count him in

4. excluding

5. (tr) to believe to be; consider; think; deem

   count yourself lucky

6. (intr) to recite or list numbers in ascending order either in units or groups

   to count in tens

7. (intr) to have value, importance, or influence

   this picture counts as a rarity

8. to have a certain specified value or importance

   the job counts for a lot

9. (intr) music to keep time by counting beats

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noun

1. the act of counting or reckoning

2. the number reached by counting; sum

3. law a paragraph in an indictment containing a distinct and separate charge

4. physics the total number of photons or ionized particles detected by a counter

5. to keep a record of items, events, etc

6. to fail to keep an accurate record of items, events, etc

7. boxing wrestling the act of telling off a number of seconds by the referee, as when a boxer has been knocked down or a wrestler pinned by his opponent

8. boxing knocked out and unable to continue after a count of ten by the referee

9. boxing to be unable to continue after a count of ten

10. archaic notice; regard; account

count ² British  

/ kaʊnt /

noun

1. a nobleman in any of various European countries having a rank corresponding to that of a British earl

2. any of various officials in the late Roman Empire and under various Germanic kings in the early Middle Ages

3. a man who has received an honour ( papal knighthood ) from the Pope in recognition of good deeds, achievements, etc

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count More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing count

• down for the count
• every minute counts
• out for (the count)
• stand up and be counted

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• countship
  noun
• half-counted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• counting
  present
• counted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• count
  simple
• counts
  simple
• have counted
  perfect
• has counted
  perfect
• am counting
  progressive
• are counting
  progressive
• is counting
  progressive
• have been counting
  perfect progressive
• has been counting
  perfect progressive

Past

• counted
  simple
• had counted
  perfect
• was counting
  progressive
• were counting
  progressive
• had been counting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will count
  simple
• will have counted
  perfect
• will be counting
  progressive
• will have been counting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of count¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb counten, compten, from Anglo-French c(o)unter, Old French conter, from Latin computāre “to count up, reckon”; Middle English noun counte, conte, compte, from Anglo-French c(o)unte, Old French conte, cunte, from Late Latin computus “calculation, reckoning,” noun derivative of computāre compute ( def. )

Origin of count²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English counte. comite, counete, from Anglo-French c(o)unte, Old French conte, comte, from Late Latin comitem, accusative of comes honorary title of various imperial functionaries, Latin: “retainer, staff member,” literally, ”companion”; see origin at comes

Explanation

To count is to calculate how many or how much of something there is. A first grade teacher might stop and count her students before they board a bus after a field trip. You can count your money, adding up the dollars and quarters, or count the calories in the food you eat each day. When your cat has kittens, you might count them and announce, "Seven kittens!" Another way to count is to list the numbers in order: "One, two, three, four..." When count is a noun, it refers to the title of a nobleman. This meaning comes from the Latin comes, "companion," or specifically "companion to the emperor."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

count counts counted counting

During the “Power Hour” between 1-2 p.m. from Aug. 20 to Sept. 25, votes count double per category.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

One thing the Federal Reserve could always count on to keep inflation low was falling prices for computers, cellphones and other high-tech stuff — but not anymore.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Its winter count showed a year-on-year fall between 2025 and 2026, but up 14% compared to January 2020.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The count resumed after the commission announced the "security threat" had been contained.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

I count to ten and make a run for it.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Patterson claims she suffered several counts of "substantial miscarriage of justice" because the trial judge erred in deciding what evidence could be presented.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Not only are the states seeking upwards of $1 trillion, external from Meta, they are demanding it make changes to Instagram and Facebook, including ending "like" counts and infinite scroll.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

The company’s AI revenue, which counts all PCs and smartphones with dedicated AI accelerators, AI and GPU servers and related services, jumped 60%, to now account for 35% of all revenue.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Restaurant and retailer guest counts are up 40% from last year, and northbound traffic at Ragged Point has risen 900% year-over-year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Father’s given me permission to knit a white wool sweater; the yarn isn’t very pretty, but it’ll be warm, and that’s what counts.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

Capital gains, dividends and interest on your taxable brokerage account, however, are counted.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

With 95% of the vote counted, Crowley clinched the nomination early Wednesday by just 3,000 votes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

With roughly 85 percent of ballots counted on Tuesday night, Graham advanced to a runoff with 33 percent of the vote, against Norman who was projected to finish second at 24 percent.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

There are no values that can’t be counted in dollars.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

There were sixteen eyelets on each of his shoes, Bat counted.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

He keeps mentioning that he’s working to adjust his schedule so he doesn’t have to work late, seemingly for his own lifestyle, but I’m not counting on it.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

And that’s not even counting the ones saying please stop the bike racing columns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Polls will close at 10:00 pm, with counting beginning immediately and a result expected by around 7:00 am Friday.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

City sources have previously told BBC Sport they are "counting on" the player for next season, while a significant fee would need to be offered to even consider a sale of the player.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

I am counting on you to help me.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

Related Words

• calculation
• poll
• result
• toll
• total