numerate
Americanadjective
verb
-
to read (a numerical expression)
-
a less common word for enumerate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of numerate
1400–50; late Middle English: counted, numbered < Latin numerātus (past participle of numerāre to number ), equivalent to numer- number + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To numerate is to count, number, or list. You might numerate your ten New Year's resolutions, starting with number one. As a verb, numerate is often used as a less-common synonym for enumerate, "to name in a list." You can also use this word as an adjective to mean "fluent in understanding numbers." If you're literate, you can read, and if you're numerate, you can count, add, subtract, and generally use numbers. The Latin root word is numerus, "a number."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Improvements in K-14 education to get every child literate, numerate, graduating from high school and, where possible, into at least community college, the military or technical training.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2024
Rishi Sunak said the UK was one of the least numerate countries in the developed world in a speech championing maths.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2023
It’s harder-edged, more numerate and more closely connected to the floods, fires and December tornadoes that have upended millions of people’s lives.
From New York Times • Dec. 12, 2021
The highly numerate search for and think hard about numbers when they make decisions.
From Washington Post • Sep. 27, 2019
Of course, this aspect of mathematics isn’t very well known even to the numerate, since it’s necessary to have some mathematical ideas first before you can play around with them.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
