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

Inflected Forms

noun

• 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

Reynolds said Kismet had manufactured and supplied kebabs to takeaways and restaurants with labels that indicated a specific quantity of specified meat, which the firm knew to be incorrect, thereby fraudulently misleading customers.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

Yet many universities continue to reward publication based on quantity, not quality.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

Farmers have few options to deal with rising costs, and whatever they decide to do will have consequences for the quality and quantity of crops they produce.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026

There was a significant enough quantity of oil that it got into the storm drain.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

Suitcase had never even bothered to examine our work and was rattled by the quantity of it.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

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