two

[too]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR two ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cardinal number, 1 plus 1.

a symbol for this number, as 2 or II.

a set of this many persons or things.

a playing card, die face, or half of a domino face with two pips.

adjective

amounting to two in number.

Idioms

in two, into two separate parts, as halves: A bolt of lightning split the tree in two.

put two and two together, to draw a correct conclusion from the given circumstances; infer: It didn't require a great mind to put two and two together.

Origin of two

before 900; Middle English; Old English twā (feminine and neuter; cf. twain); cognate with German zwei; compare Latin duo, Greek dýo

Can be confusedto too two

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

Related Words for put two and two together

do, determine, fix, explain, clarify, have, settle, decide, lick, illuminate, puzzle, unlock, divine, enlighten, disentangle, fathom, decode, unravel, crack, construe

British Dictionary definitions for put two and two together

two

noun

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one. It is a prime numberSee also number (def. 1)

a numeral, 2, II, (ii), etc, representing this number

music the numeral 2 used as the lower figure in a time signature, indicating that the beat is measured in minims

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

Also called: two o'clock two hours after noon or midnight

in two in or into two partsbreak the bread in two

put two and two together to make an inference from available evidence, esp an obvious inference

that makes two of us the same applies to me

determiner

amounting to twotwo nails
(as pronoun)he bought two

Related formsRelated adjectives: binary, double, dualRelated prefixes: di-, bi-

Word Origin for two

Old English twā (feminine); related to Old High German zwā, Old Norse tvau, Latin, Greek duo

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 put two and two together

two

Old English twa, fem. and neuter form of twegen "two" (see twain), from Proto-Germanic *twai (cf. Old Saxon and Old Frisian twene, twa, Old Norse tveir, tvau, Dutch twee, Old High German zwene, zwo, German zwei, Gothic twai), from PIE *duwo (cf. Sanskrit dvau, Avestan dva, Greek duo, Latin duo, Old Welsh dou, Lithuanian dvi, Old Church Slavonic duva, first element in Hittite ta-ugash "two years old").

Dance style two-step is recorded from 1900. Twofer is first recorded 1911 (originally in reference to cigars), from two for (a dollar, etc.). Two cheers for _____, expressing qualified enthusiasm first recorded 1951 in E.M. Forster's title "Two Cheers for Democracy." Two-dimensional is recorded from 1883; figurative sense of "lacking substance or depth" is attested from 1934.

Idioms and Phrases with put two and two together

put two and two together

Draw the proper inference from existing evidence, as in Putting two and two together, it's not hard to guess who will be chosen for the lead role in the play. [Mid-1800s]

two

In addition to the idioms beginning with two

two bits
two can play at that game
two cents
two left feet, have
two of a kind
two shakes of a lamb's tail
two strikes against
two strings to one's bow
two ways about it
two wrongs do not make a right

also see:

fall between the crack (two stools)
for two cents
game that two can play
goody-two-shoes
in two shakes
it takes two
kill two birds with one stone
know all the answers (a thing or two)
lesser of two evils
like as two peas in a pod
no two ways about it
of two minds
put two and two together
that makes two of us
thing or two
wear two hats