quantity

American  

[kwon-ti-tee] / ˈkwɒn tɪ ti /

noun

plural

quantities

1. a particular or indefinite amount of anything.

   a small quantity of milk;

   the ocean's vast quantity of fish.

2. an exact or specified amount or measure.

   Mix the ingredients in the quantities called for.

3. a considerable or great amount.

   to extract ore in quantity.

4. Mathematics.

   1. the property of magnitude involving comparability with other magnitudes.

   2. something having magnitude, or size, extent, amount, or the like.

   3. magnitude, size, volume, area, or length.

5. Music. the length or duration of a note.

6. Logic. the character of a proposition as singular, universal, particular, or mixed, according to the presence or absence of certain kinds of quantifiers.

7. that amount, degree, etc., in terms of which another is greater or lesser.

8. Prosody, Phonetics. the relative duration or length of a sound or a syllable, with respect to the time spent in pronouncing it; length.

9. Law. the nature of an estate as affected by its duration in time.

---

quantity British  

/ ˈkwɒntɪtɪ /

noun

1. 1. a specified or definite amount, weight, number, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a quantity estimate

2. the aspect or property of anything that can be measured, weighed, counted, etc

3. a large or considerable amount

4. maths an entity having a magnitude that may be denoted by a numerical expression

5. physics a specified magnitude or amount; the product of a number and a unit

6. logic the characteristic of a proposition dependent on whether it is a universal or particular statement, considering all or only part of a class

7. prosody the relative duration of a syllable or the vowel in it

---

quantity Scientific  

/ kwŏn′tĭ-tē /

1. Something, such as a number or symbol that represents a number, on which a mathematical operation is performed.

---

quantity Idioms  

1. see unknown quantity.

---

Usage

The use of a plural noun after quantity of as in a large quantity of bananas was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable

Etymology

Origin of quantity

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English quantite, from Old French, from Latin quantitās, from quant(us) “how much” + -itās -ity

Example Sentences

The request from the firm, KoBold Metals, was made about six months ago and involved access to a large quantity of data on the Congolese subsoil in order to digitise it, Ouvry explained.

From Barron's

Their results indicate that the original quantity of organic compounds was likely far greater than what typical non biological processes are known to produce.

From Science Daily

In addition to gaseous compounds, the team found large quantities of solid materials, including carbon-rich grains and water ices.

From Science Daily

"Now it's always more. Prices are rising, quantities are shrinking. Even when the price stays the same, you get less."

From BBC

No U.S. factory can meet my specifications for handmade products in the small quantities I need.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abundance
• batch
• bulk
• capacity
• length
• load
• pile
• portion
• quota
• size
• sum
• variety
• volume