countless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of countless
Explanation
Countless means more than you could possibly count. If you have countless reasons why you love living in New York, there are so many reasons that you can't list them all. Countless is a good adjective to use when you want to emphasize how endless, huge, or immeasurable something is. Your could say that smoke detectors save countless lives each year, or that your principal has tried countless times to ban soda at school, only to be outvoted by the student council over and over. The word dates from the 16th century, from the verb count, with its Old French root, conter, "add up."
Vocabulary lists containing countless
Much Ado: Synonyms for "Many"
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 6
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"Dogs at Work"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I have received countless messages from Massachusetts residents, Scotland supporters, legal experts, and at least one very concerned sheep," she wrote.
From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026
He said there were countless videos featuring the AI-generated figures with Down syndrome and said the same accounts had been trying to sell identical products using elderly synthetic characters.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
TONOPAH, Nev. — Some years ago, Harry Chahal and his wife were on a trip to Las Vegas when, like countless motorists before and since, they passed through this high desert speck of a town.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2026
And while Pulisic had racked up goals and created countless chances for the U.S. over the course of his career, hopes that he would find his game at this World Cup were low.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
There were, however, countless times she found herself dangling in the safety harness, forearms aching, fingertips throbbing, after yet another failed attempt.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
