countless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- countlessly adverb
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
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 6
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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.
Money, that eternal source of marital friction, offers a paper trail for the unraveling of countless marriages.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
The prime minister has repeatedly promised everything is being pored over, with countless earnest statements about how no stone will be unturned.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
Studying dense crowds is difficult because individuals can take countless possible paths and interact in unpredictable ways, Liu explained.
From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026
He has engaged in countless bilateral forums, work groups and discussions about immigration, drug trafficking, cross-border commerce and other concerns, and generally received good marks from U.S. officials.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
“North America is exactly like that. There are countless tribal nations throughout this land. In Washington State alone, there are more than thirty tribes.”
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
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.
