numeral

American  

[noo-mer-uhl, nyoo-, noom-ruhl, nyoom-] / ˈnu mər əl, ˈnju-, ˈnum rəl, ˈnjum- /

noun

• numerals
  plural

1. a word, letter, symbol, or figure, etc., expressing a number; number.

   the Roman numerals.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or consisting of numbers or numerals.

2. expressing or noting a number or numbers.

numeral British  

/ ˈnjuːmərəl /

noun

1. a symbol or group of symbols used to express a number: for example, 6 ( Arabic ), VI ( Roman ), 110 ( binary )

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adjective

1. of, consisting of, or denoting a number

numeral Scientific  

/ no̅o̅′mər-əl /

1. A symbol or mark used to represent a number.

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numeral Cultural  

1. A word or symbol used to represent a number.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonnumeral
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• numerals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of numeral

1520–30; < Late Latin numerālis of, belonging to number, equivalent to Latin numer ( us ) number + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

A numeral is a symbol that stands for a number. When you set an online password, it's safest to use both numerals and letters. The actual symbol that represents a number is technically called a numeral, although many people use numeral and number interchangeably. You might have a watch with glow-in-the-dark numerals, or use the calculator on your smart phone to add up numerals. You can also use numeral as an adjective: "How many numeral cards are in the deck and how many face cards?" The Latin root is numerus, or "number."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

numeral numerals

LIV was founded in 2021 and launched the following year with 54-hole events, taking its name from the Roman numeral for 54.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The Saudi-backed circuit, whose name is derived from the Roman numeral for '54', had previously touted its three-round tournaments as a core distinction from traditional golf events.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2025

If the number is less than .5, the image is not assumed to contain a tumor; a numeral greater than .5 warrants a closer look.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2024

According to the source, he also told investigators his tattoo included the Roman numeral 58 to indicate he was the 58th deputy inked with that image.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2024

For example, he chose the shapes D, R, b, h to represent the Cherokee syllables a, e, si, and ni, respectively, while the shape of the numeral 4 was borrowed for the syllable se.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

What came back was a long list of numerals representing the phones’ connections to the network—all of which originated at a cell tower in Georgia, despite the South Carolina area codes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

In kindergarten, that means manipulating objects rather than written numerals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

A large digital clock appeared at the start of each episode, with bright numerals showing the current time in 24-hour format, as Bauer raced against the clock to avert disaster.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026

"You might be feeling a familiar vexation at the sight of these two formerly innocuous numerals," Dictionary.com said, addressing parents as it announced the winner this week.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2025

Arabic numerals are tools which enable me to add and subtract, multiply and divide on a piece of paper far more fluently than I could with Roman numerals.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton