eight

American  

[eyt] / eɪt /

noun

• eights
  plural

1. a cardinal number, seven plus one.

2. a symbol for this number, as 8 or VIII.

3. a set of this many persons or things, as the crew of an eight-oared racing shell.

4. a playing card the face of which bears eight pips.

5. Informal.

   1. an automobile powered by an eight-cylinder engine.

   2. an eight-cylinder engine.

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adjective

1. amounting to eight in number.

eight British  

/ eɪt /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of one and seven and the product of two and four See also number

2. a numeral, 8, VIII, etc, representing this number

3. music the numeral 8 used as the lower figure in a time signature to indicate that the beat is measured in quavers

4. the amount or quantity that is one greater than seven

5. something representing, represented by, or consisting of eight units, such as a playing card with eight symbols on it

6. rowing

   1. a racing shell propelled by eight oarsmen

   2. the crew of such a shell

7. Also called: eight o'clock.  eight hours after noon or midnight

8. slang to be drunk

9. See figure of eight

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to eight

   2. ( as pronoun )

      I could only find eight

eight Idioms  

1. see behind the eight ball.

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Usage

Spelling tips for 8 The word eight (8) is hard to spell because it is not spelled the way it sounds [ eyt ]. There are a number of silent letters. How to spell eight: The easiest way to remember how to spell eight is with the classic mnemonic device: “I before E, except after C, except when it’s pronounced like a long A, as in neighbor and weigh.” The collection of letters eigh often makes a long A sound. To this, you simply add the t at the end: eight.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• eights
  plural

Etymology

Origin of eight

before 1000; Middle English eighte, Old English ( e ) ahta; cognate with Dutch acht, Old Saxon, Old High German ahto ( German acht ), Old Norse ātta, Gothic ahtau, Latin octō, Greek oktṓ, Old Irish ocht, Welsh wyth, Breton eiz, Tocharian B okt, Lithuanian aštuonì, Albanian tetë, Armenian uth, Persian hasht, Sanskrit aṣṭáu; apparently an old dual in form, but not clear of what

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eight eights

About seven in eight patients die within five years of diagnosis—many within a year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Simpson completed eight of 12 passes for 73 yards in the second half.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

And with eight more books in the series, they're hopeful this is just the start of this Tartan Noir tale.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

“This quarter, we delivered record Flex volume, adding more than 935 Flex accounts,” Kurtz said on the earnings call, adding that customers are expanding contracts an average of eight months.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

Though Aunt Fanny Hamline outweighed his horse, with all eight of us and Tansy pushing the wagon and pulling on the rope and the horse straining and pawing the road, we showed some progress.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

We gather in sixes and eights for dinner at places chosen more for their decibels than their desserts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Looping mischievously around one another, befezzed Shriners do figure eights on their tiny motorcycles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

Goddesses on roller skates glide in buttery figure eights across the glass-fiber-reinforced concrete.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026

But it has not focused enough on creative number eights, either.

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2025

I put the top back on the box and put the empty shoe box under the other one—the eights.

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds