quantity

American  

[kwon-ti-tee] / ˈkwɒn tɪ ti /

noun

quantities plural

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.

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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

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quantity Scientific  

/ kwŏn′tĭ-tē /

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

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quantity Idioms  

1. see unknown quantity.

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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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• quantities
  plural

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

Explanation

Quantity tells you “how much.” If you're concerned with quantity not quality, it's more important how many you have than how good they are. If you get confused about quantity vs. quality, remember that quant is close to count. In Latin, quantus means “how great” or “how much.” When you count how many oranges are in a bowl, you know the quantity. When you count the grains of sand in a desert, you're counting a very large quantity . . . and you need a new hobby.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quantity quantities

Experts said that while an AI system could conceivably offer some advantages over humans, its accuracy would ultimately depend on the quality and quantity of signatures available for comparison.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

Star chefs and bakers like Martha Stewart, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Apollonia Poilâne are fans of his company’s spices and blends, which range from $9 to $36, depending on the product and quantity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

Ashtekar and his colleagues have now proposed a new method for determining a black hole's entropy, a quantity that measures disorder and, according to the second law of thermodynamics, can never decrease.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026

The meeting decided on measures such as "bolstering up the nuclear force both in quality and quantity", the report said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Instead we ate a small quantity of dried abalone, and afterwards my brother Ramo climbed over the cliff.

From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell

There were large quantities of expired equipment, that was past its useful life.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

The militias were also involved in acquiring huge quantities of Mastercard and Visa cards loaded with funds in Iraq.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

The department also brought in helicopters capable of carrying largers quantities of water to the fire site.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026

Large quantities of gas and dust are packed into a region only about 1,500 light-years across.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026

Pheasants fed quantities too small to kill them nevertheless laid few eggs, and the chicks that hatched soon died.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

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