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

"The wavefunction is a fundamental quantity in quantum mechanics, yet it cannot be directly observed or measured," explains Professor Stefan Mathias at the University of Göttingen.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

Mourinho might be a loose cannon—or a tabloid villain, depending on whom you ask—but he is a known quantity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The chain currently sells a small pizza, but the Domino boosts the quantity of toppings and comes with a savory Parmesan crust, Jordan said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

It offers what is there, in the quantity there is.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

Here the theorem provides the theoretical support for the fact that the measurements of any quantity tend to follow a normal bell-shaped “error curve” centered on the true value of the quantity being measured.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Blessed with a tropical climate and rich basalt soil, the lush Central Highlands produces vast quantities of robusta beans, and Vietnam trails only Brazil in coffee output.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

Instead of exposed ice, they resemble sprawling fields of loose rock, while potentially concealing large quantities of ice below the surface.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

But the gas that’s released in larger quantities is methane, which forms underwater as plants and algae break down and then bubbles to the surface.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Such strategies can involve the purchase and sale of large quantities of stock over time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

They also furnish quantities of bait for fishermen.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

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