eleven

[ ih-lev-uhn ]

/ ɪˈlɛv ən /

Save This Word!

noun

a cardinal number, ten plus one.

a symbol for this number, as 11 or XI.

a set of this many persons or things, as a football team.

adjective

amounting to eleven in number.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of eleven

before 900; Middle English elleven(e), Old English ellefne, endleofan; cognate with Old High German einlif (German elf), Old Norse ellifu,Gothic ainlib-, literally, one remaining (after counting 10). See one, leave¹

Words nearby eleven

elevator muscle of upper lip, elevator muscle of upper lip and wing of nose, elevator music, elevator pitch, elevator shoe, eleven, eleven-plus, elevenses, eleventh, Eleventh Amendment, eleventh chord

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use eleven in a sentence

One morning at about eleven, he announces his intention as though it's truly an unusual thought: “Let's have a little drink.”
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet the undocumented population remains upwards eleven million.
Legal but Still Poor: The Economic Consequences of Amnesty|Joel Kotkin|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Eleven thousand aircraft would bomb preparation and give them air cover.
Blood in the Sand: When James Jones Wrote a Grunt’s View of D-Day|James Jones|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I mean literally find him, still there, an eleven-year-old boy, cold and trembling, with nowhere else to run.
Charles D’Ambrosio’s X-Ray Vision Is On Full Display In His New Essay Collection.|Steve Almond|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Eleven children under the age of 13 have been shot in the city of Milwaukee so far this year.
11 Children Shot in Milwaukee, One in Her Grandpa's Lap|Michael Daly|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the nasty part of the whole thing was, that Haggard had won eleven thousand pounds from a weak-headed boy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Porter and Poindexter are within eleven miles of the place, and Duffield expects to be attacked by morning.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
It was eleven o'clock before the river was crossed and the headquarters of Colonel Guitar reached.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
So it was decided, and the little force took up the march for Brown's Springs, eleven miles away.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
We were then nine million small arm still to the good having spent eleven million.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for eleven

eleven

/ (ɪˈlɛvən) /

noun

the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and one

a numeral 11, XI, etc, representing this number

something representing, represented by, or consisting of 11 units

(functioning as singular or plural) a team of 11 players in football, cricket, hockey, etc

Also called: eleven o'clock eleven hours after noon or midnight

determiner

amounting to eleveneleven chances
(as pronoun)have another eleven today

Word Origin for eleven

Old English endleofan; related to Old Norse ellefo, Gothic ainlif, Old Frisian andlova, Old High German einlif

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