nine

[nahyn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nine ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cardinal number, eight plus one.

a symbol for this number, as 9 or IX.

a set of this many persons or things.

a baseball team.

a playing card with nine pips.

the Nine, the Muses.

adjective

amounting to nine in number.

Idioms

dressed to the nines, looking one's best; dressed smartly, splendidly, etc.: All the girls were dressed to the nines for the party.

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for nine

nonagon, ninth, ennead

Examples from the Web for nine

Contemporary Examples of nine

This was nine fewer than what he needed just two years ago when 426 members of the House voted.
Democrats Accidentally Save Boehner From Republican Coup
Ben Jacobs, Jackie Kucinich
January 6, 2015
The Via Dolorosa ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and is marked by nine stations of the cross.
Oops! Jesus’ Last Steps Are in the Wrong Place
Candida Moss
January 6, 2015
Denied parole nine straight times, he insists he is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside
Justin Rohrlich
January 3, 2015
If you answered nine or more, you may have won a SONY Betamax and an eight-track operating system.
The World’s Toughest Political Quiz
Jeff Greenfield
December 31, 2014
Nine new Republican senators will swear their oaths of office.
The Democrats’ Black Hole—and What They Can Do About It
Michael Tomasky
December 31, 2014

Historical Examples of nine

After following Lake Barlee for nine miles, it turned to the southward.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
By half-past nine on the morning of the 18th we had made a fair start.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
It was after nine o'clock and there were few persons passing.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
Punctually at nine o'clock on Monday morning, George was at the office.
Life in London
Edwin Hodder
When, at last, he rose and picked up his cap; it was nine o'clock.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for nine

nine

noun

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and eightSee also number (def. 1)

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

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

Also: nine o'clock nine hours after noon or midnightthe play starts at nine

dressed to the nines or dressed up to the nines informal elaborately dressed

999 (in Britain) the telephone number of the emergency services

nine to five normal office hourshe works nine to five; a nine-to-five job

determiner

amounting to ninenine days
(as pronoun)nine of the ten are ready

Related formsRelated prefix: nona-

Word Origin for nine

Old English nigon; related to Gothic niun, Latin novem

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

Word Origin and History for nine

Old English nigen, from Proto-Germanic *niwun (cf. Old Saxon nigun, Old Frisian niugun, Old Norse niu, Swedish nio, Middle Dutch neghen, Dutch negen, Old High German niun, German neun, Gothic niun "nine"), from PIE newn "nine" (cf. Sanskrit nava, Avestan nava, Greek ennea, Albanian nende, Latin novem (with change of -n- to -m- by analogy of septem, decem), Lithuanian devnyi, Old Church Slavonic deveti (the Balto-Slavic forms by dissimilation of -n- to -d-), Old Irish noin, Welsh naw).

Nine to five "the average workday" is attested from 1935. Nine days has been proverbial since 14c. for the time which a wonder or novelty holds attention.

Idioms and Phrases with nine

nine

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