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

A video of US creator Markiplier playing PowerWash Simulator from 2021 now has more than nine million views.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

The CBO in February projected growth of 2.4% this year, 1.9% growth next year and 1.8% average growth for the next nine years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The animal measured just over 8 centimeters long and preserved a dorsal exoskeleton made up of a head shield and nine body segments.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

Darling rose 1.7% to $63.23 on Thursday, putting the stock on track to extend its winning streak to nine days.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

“My workday begins at nine o’clock in the evening,” I say.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse