nine

American  

[nahyn] / naɪn /

noun

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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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

She and her husband, Ben Sawyer, have a blended family of five children and nine grandchildren, most of whom live near their cozy home in Goleta.

From Los Angeles Times

In 2019, pastor Wang Yi was sentenced to nine years in prison for incitement of subversion of state power and illegal business operations.

From The Wall Street Journal

He said federal immigration agents had fired on at least nine people in five states and Washington, D.C.

From Los Angeles Times

The report from the Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission said one in nine hospital beds were occupied because of delayed discharges in the 12 months to April 2025.

From BBC

Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western Conference leaders returned to winning ways after back-to-back defeats.

From Barron's