eight
- a cardinal number, seven plus one.
- a symbol for this number, as 8 or VIII.
- a set of this many persons or things, as the crew of an eight-oared racing shell.
- a playing card the face of which bears eight pips.
- Informal.
- an automobile powered by an eight-cylinder engine.
- an eight-cylinder engine.
- amounting to eight in number.
Origin of eight
Examples from the Web for eight
Contemporary Examples
That man was Xavier Cortada, a gay man who wrote of his frustration that he and his partner of eight years were unable to marry.
I could complain about how, two out of eight episodes in, Agent Carter is in no hurry to introduce its real villain.
The Air Force has about seven pilots for every eight drone pilot slots, in other words.
One of the kids had a ball in his hand, and Cuomo took it and tossed it back and forth to an eight year old.
These are eight of the most interesting laws passed in the second session of the 113th Congress.
Nazis, Sunscreen, and Sea Gull Eggs: Congress in 2014 Was Hella ProductiveBen Jacobs
December 29, 2014
Historical Examples
After a year of that, he'll be taken into the office and his hours will be cut down to eight.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Dar was an ole sow dar, an' perhaps eight or ten little pigs.
Harriet, The Moses of Her PeopleSarah H. Bradford
He also said there was a well of good water about eight miles further on.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
At eight o'clock we got under way, and followed along the river.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
Sir, it is not; it has existed for the last seven or eight years.
eight
- the cardinal number that is the sum of one and seven and the product of two and fourSee also number (def. 1)
- a numeral, 8, VIII, etc, representing this number
- music the numeral 8 used as the lower figure in a time signature to indicate that the beat is measured in quavers
- the amount or quantity that is one greater than seven
- something representing, represented by, or consisting of eight units, such as a playing card with eight symbols on it
- rowing
- a racing shell propelled by eight oarsmen
- the crew of such a shell
- Also called: eight o'clock eight hours after noon or midnight
- have one over the eight slang to be drunk
- See figure of eight
- amounting to eight
- (as pronoun)I could only find eight
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for eight
n.
late 14c., eighte, earlier ehte (c.1200), from Old English eahta, æhta, from Proto-Germanic *akhto(u) (cf. Old Saxon ahto, Old Frisian ahta, Old Norse atta, Swedish åtta, Dutch acht, Old High German Ahto, German acht, Gothic ahtau), from PIE *okto(u) "eight" (cf. Sanskrit astau, Avestan ashta, Greek okto, Latin octo, Old Irish ocht-n, Breton eiz, Old Church Slavonic osmi, Lithuanian aštuoni).
Klein calls it "an old dual form, orig. meaning 'twice four.' " For spelling, see fight (v.). Meaning "eight-man crew of a rowing boat" is from 1847. The Spanish piece of eight (1690s) was so called because it was worth eight reals (see piece (n.)). Figure (of) eight as the shape of a race course, etc., attested from c.1600. To be behind the eight ball "in trouble" (1932) is a metaphor from shooting pool.
Idioms and Phrases with eight
eight
see behind the eight ball.