eight

[eyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR eight ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

adjective

amounting to eight in number.

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

Can be confusedate eight

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for eight

octave, octad, octet, octagon, octagonal, octennial

Examples from the Web for eight

Contemporary Examples of eight

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.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails
Jackie Kucinich
January 9, 2015
I could complain about how, two out of eight episodes in, Agent Carter is in no hurry to introduce its real villain.
Marvel’s ‘Agent Carter’ Stomps on the Patriarchy
Melissa Leon
January 7, 2015
The Air Force has about seven pilots for every eight drone pilot slots, in other words.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says
Dave Majumdar
January 5, 2015
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.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light
Mike Barnicle
January 4, 2015
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 Productive
Ben Jacobs
December 29, 2014

Historical Examples of eight

After a year of that, he'll be taken into the office and his hours will be cut down to eight.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Dar was an ole sow dar, an' perhaps eight or ten little pigs.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
He also said there was a well of good water about eight miles further on.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
At eight o'clock we got under way, and followed along the river.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
Sir, it is not; it has existed for the last seven or eight years.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various

British Dictionary definitions for eight

eight

noun

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

determiner

amounting to eight
(as pronoun)I could only find eight

Related formsRelated prefixes: octa-, octo-

Word Origin for eight

Old English eahta; related to Old High German ahto, Old Norse ātta, Old Irish ocht, Latin octō, Greek okto, Sanskrit astau

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for eight

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.