four

American  

[fawr, fohr] / fɔr, foʊr /

noun

• fours
  plural

1. a cardinal number, three plus one.

2. a symbol of this number, 4 or IV or IIII.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. a playing card, die face, or half of a domino face with four pips.

5. Jazz. fours, alternate four-bar passages, as played in sequence by different soloists.

   with guitar and piano trading fours.

6. Automotive.

   1. an automobile powered by a four-cylinder engine.

   2. the engine itself.

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adjective

1. amounting to four in number.

idioms

1. on all fours. all fours.

four British  

/ fɔː /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one

2. a numeral, 4, IV, etc, representing this number

3. something representing, represented by, or consisting of four units, such as a playing card with four symbols on it

4. Also called: four o'clock.  four hours after noon or midnight

5. cricket

   1. a shot that crosses the boundary after hitting the ground

   2. the four runs scored for such a shot

6. rowing

   1. a racing shell propelled by four oarsmen pulling one oar each, with or without a cox

   2. the crew of such a shell

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to four

      four thousand eggs

      four times

   2. ( as pronoun )

      four are ready

four More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing four

• between you and me and (the four walls)
• on all fours

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fours
  plural

Etymology

Origin of four

before 1000; Middle English four, fower, Old English fēower; cognate with Old High German fior ( German vier ), Gothic fidwor; akin to Latin quattuor, Greek tésseres ( Attic téttares )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

four fours

A defensive error left Jack Jasinski with a clear chance inside the box just four minutes in, but Jakob Glesnes came to the rescue to clear the ball off the line.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

The 23-year-old triumphed at the Australian Open in January to become the youngest man to win all four Grand Slam titles.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

BCA is recommending a two-legged trade, with 80% being a long position in those four hyperscalers, weighted by market capitalization.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

She followed that up with “Traps,” in 2013, a slim suspense novel that chronicles the lives of four women in the American Southwest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Early escaped Carville four times in his first two years.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

It completed a remarkable fightback from MI London, led by Kerr who had not hit a six in The Hundred before this innings, in which she clubbed four alongside five fours.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

He whacked five sixes and five fours with a combination of power and flair, including a monstrous six over mid-wicket to surpass the previous highest team total of 226.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

There are also the legions of sponsors and guests, who follow the race from bleachers at the summit and nibble on petits fours while the competition rages in the background.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

“He’s just standing there, you know, on all fours, and he’s got drool coming down,” recalled Peter, 69.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Noticing the twin’s fearful faces, Cecilia slid the tray of petit fours toward them.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall