natural number

American

noun

a positive integer or zero.

natural number British

noun

any of the numbers 0,1,2,3,4,… that can be used to count the members of a set; the non-negative integers

"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

natural number Scientific

A positive integer.

Etymology

Origin of natural number

First recorded in 1755–65

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.

See Examples For:

natural number

The lack of a natural number "6" has left a midfield imbalance that leaves them horribly vulnerable to counter-attacks.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Arsenal signed Gyokeres in a deal worth £64m in the summer as Arteta looked to bring in a natural number nine and lead them to their first trophy since 2020.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2025

We can add 1 to any natural number; the result is also a natural number.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 13, 2023

“Fifty-four is the natural number for me,” Wagner said Monday.

From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2023

Half the product of the two might, perhaps, seem to be a natural number to adopt for symbolic purposes.

From The Astronomy of the Bible An Elementary Commentary on the Astronomical References of Holy Scripture by E. Walter (Edward Walter) Maunder

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023