six

[ siks ]

/ sɪks /

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noun

a cardinal number, five plus one.

a symbol for this number, as 6 or VI.

a set of this many persons or things.

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

Cricket. a hit in which the ball crosses the boundary line of the field without a bounce, counting six runs for the batsman.Compare boundary (def. 3).

an automobile powered by a six-cylinder engine.

a six-cylinder engine.

Slang.

the area directly behind a person; back: Check your six—there's a hottie approaching.
the area directly behind a person in motion; tail: The pilot had an enemy plane on his six.

adjective

amounting to six in number.

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Idioms about six

at sixes and sevens,

in disorder or confusion.
in disagreement or dispute.

get / have someone’s six, Slang. back¹ (def. 54).

watch one’s six, Slang. back¹ (def. 62).

Origin of six

First recorded before 900; Middle English six, sex, Old English siex, syx, seox, sex; cognate with Dutch zes, Low German ses, German sechs, Old Norse sex, Gothic saihs, Latin sex, Greek héx Sanskrit ṣaṭ-

Words nearby six

Sivapithecus, Sivas, Sivash Sea, Siwalik Hills, siwash, six, sixain, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Six Counties, Six-Day War, six-eight time

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use six in a sentence

Thirty-six percent were in favor and 38 percent were opposed.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a very faithful homage to a Six Million Dollar Man episode.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I just recently rewatched all six Star Wars movies the other day… Oh wow, from the beginning?
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
After the six-week training, the forces will be deployed to confront the Islamic State, officials said.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’|Nancy A. Youssef|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But the program is just six weeks long, the Pentagon admitted Monday.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’|Nancy A. Youssef|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I take the Extream Bells, and set down the six Changes on them thus.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing|Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman
About this time the famous Philippine painter, Juan Luna (vide p. 195), was released after six monthsʼ imprisonment as a suspect.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
It contains above eighty thousand houses, and about six hundred thousand inhabitants.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
We had six field-pieces, but we only took four, harnessed wit twice the usual number of horses.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
The Seven-score and four on the six middle Bells, the treble leading, and the tenor lying behind every change, makes good Musick.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing|Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman

British Dictionary definitions for six (1 of 2)

six

/ (sɪks) /

noun

the cardinal number that is the sum of five and oneSee also number (def. 1)

a numeral, 6, VI, etc, representing this number

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

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

Also called: sixer cricket

a stroke in which the ball crosses the boundary without bouncing
the six runs scored for such a stroke

a division of a Brownie Guide or Cub Scout pack

at sixes and sevens

in disagreement
in a state of confusion

knock someone for six informal to upset or overwhelm someone completely; stun

six of one and half a dozen of the other or six and two threes a situation in which the alternatives are considered equivalent

determiner

amounting to sixsix nations
(as pronoun)set the table for six

Other words from six

Related prefixes: hexa-, sex-

Word Origin for six

Old English siex; related to Old Norse sex, Gothic saihs, Old High German sehs, Latin sex, Greek hex, Sanskrit sastha

British Dictionary definitions for six (2 of 2)

Six

/ (French sis) /

noun

Les Six (le) a group of six young composers in France, who from about 1916 formed a temporary association as a result of interest in neoclassicism and in the music of Satie and the poetry of Cocteau. Its members were Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Francis Poulenc, Georges Auric, Louis Durey, and Germaine Tailleferre

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with six

six

In addition to the idioms beginning with six

six feet under
six of one, half a dozen of the other

also see:

at sixes and sevens
deep six
Joe six-pack

six

Idioms about six

Origin of six

Words nearby six

Words related to six

How to use six in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for six (1 of 2)

Other words from six

Word Origin for six

British Dictionary definitions for six (2 of 2)

Other Idioms and Phrases with six