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.
April, whose son Jack has special educational needs and has just finished his GCSEs at Ilfracombe Academy, says he was sent to reflection countless times.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
"Humans have found countless uses for these molecules in everyday life," added Lana Mutabdžija, a graduate student at the Czech Academy of Sciences and co-first author of the latest paper.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
A. As a native New Yorker, I grew up with countless cuisines just a subway ride away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The countless repetitions give you the most beautiful art form where swans glide, fairies dance and every year a giant nutcracker appears.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
It did not matter that the windows billowed thick dark smoke, and that she could see from the door and every available window bright red flame, tables and equipment and countless threads alight.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
