eight

American  

[eyt] / eɪt /

noun

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.

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

Gwynne survived; Ellen’s remains were found eight days after the flood and nearly 10 miles down the river.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

American mahjong, nationalized by Jewish women, adds eight jokers, an elaborate tile-trading process called “the Charleston” and a dizzying card that changes annually and lists 70-odd winning lines—which can produce more than 1,000 combinations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The final moments of the finale jumps eight years.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

Since then, Coventry have lost once in 13, winning eight of them.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

It was ten till eight, and my test was supposed to start at eight clear across campus.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin