nine

American  

[nahyn] / naɪn /

noun

nines plural

1. a cardinal number, eight plus one.

2. a symbol for this number, as 9 or IX.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. a baseball team.

5. a playing card with nine pips.

6. the Nine, the Muses.

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adjective

1. amounting to nine in number.

idioms

1. dressed to the nines, looking one's best; dressed smartly, splendidly, etc..

   All the girls were dressed to the nines for the party.

nine British  

/ naɪn /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of one and eight See also number

2. a numeral, 9, IX, etc, representing this number

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

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

   the play starts at nine

5. informal elaborately dressed

6. (in Britain) the telephone number of the emergency services

7. normal office hours

   he works nine to five

   a nine-to-five job

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to nine

      nine days

   2. ( as pronoun )

      nine of the ten are ready

nine More Idioms  

1. see dressed to kill (to the nines); on cloud nine; possession is nine points of the law; whole nine yards.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• nines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nine

before 900; Middle English; Old English nigan, nigon, cognate with Dutch negen, akin to German neun, Old Norse nīu, Gothic niun, Latin novem, Greek ennéa, Sanskrit náva

Example Sentences

Of his 12 goals for England, nine have been at major tournaments.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2026

When VAR was introduced to soccer nine years ago, its mission was clear: to alert the head referee to potential clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 12, 2026

The 24-year-old Italian has won each of his past nine meetings with Zverev - and the past six without losing a set.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2026

Instead, it’s been a 30-year-old Basque without a true position who has played all of nine minutes over La Roja’s past two matches.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 11, 2026

With six horses, nine passengers, an armed guard, mail, and freight, a fully loaded Concord stage is over six tons in motion.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman