countless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of countless
Explanation
Countless means more than you could possibly count. If you have countless reasons why you love living in New York, there are so many reasons that you can't list them all. Countless is a good adjective to use when you want to emphasize how endless, huge, or immeasurable something is. Your could say that smoke detectors save countless lives each year, or that your principal has tried countless times to ban soda at school, only to be outvoted by the student council over and over. The word dates from the 16th century, from the verb count, with its Old French root, conter, "add up."
Vocabulary lists containing countless
Much Ado: Synonyms for "Many"
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 6
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"Dogs at Work"
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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.
How Von Mierers convinced his followers that they, too, were transplanted aliens, or that he wasn’t hawking the same stuff as countless other grifter-preachers, isn’t made clear.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
An impending heatwave has threatened to stow away — or rather, further preserve — countless tins of anchovies.
From Salon • May 28, 2026
Keven Morse, superintendent of East Lawn Cemetery, said he has seen deer, geese, hawks, foxes, coyotes, and countless bees during his family's 46 years helping manage the nonprofit cemetery.
From Science Daily • May 28, 2026
Presenting the award, Hallie Jackson from NBC News noted how all of the nominees in the category had "devoted countless hours and effort to making sure that we keep telling these stories".
From BBC • May 28, 2026
Brooklyn would’ve loved passing out on her bed, but she knew the memory of countless skulls staring at her would make that impossible.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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.
