numero uno
Americannoun
adjective
Usage
What does numero uno mean? Numero uno means number one and is used in most of the same ways that number one is used. It’s commonly used to refer to oneself or one’s best interests, as in He always looks out for numero uno before even thinking of helping other people. It’s also commonly used to refer to someone or something that is the best or highest in rank. In this way, it can be used as both a noun (as in They’re numero uno, and there is no close second) and an adjective (as in We hold a national championship game because we want the nation’s numero uno team to be determine by a head-to-head matchup, not a ranking committee). Numero uno comes from Italian, in which it literally means number one (the Spanish phrase número uno is pronounced the same way and means the same thing). Like many other Italian and Spanish words and phrases that have been adopted into English, it is often used in a very informal way to sound cool or to be humorous. Example: She’s the GOAT, the best, numero uno—no one will ever rise to her level of greatness.
Etymology
Origin of numero uno
Borrowed into English from Italian around 1970–75
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.
The first big markets where it became cerveza numero uno were, not surprisingly, the heavily Hispanic metros of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
From Slate • Jul. 5, 2023
Otherwise known as Mrs. Jackson Pollock, Krasner was a fervent booster of her husband’s work, outspoken in her conviction that he was, as she liked to say, numero uno.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 1, 2018
New Mexico has future Laker Michael Cooper, the numero uno ofensiva en el mundo, the whole turquoise jewelry bit.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2018
It started in February 2013 when he confronted bully numero uno.
From Washington Post
The kid from Portugal is now Rachel’s numero uno.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
