two

[too]

See more synonyms for two on Thesaurus.com

noun

a cardinal number, 1 plus 1.
a symbol for this number, as 2 or II.
a set of this many persons or things.

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

adjective

amounting to two in number.

Idioms

in two, into two separate parts, as halves: A bolt of lightning split the tree in two.
put two and two together, to draw a correct conclusion from the given circumstances; infer: It didn't require a great mind to put two and two together.

Origin of two

before 900; Middle English; Old English twā (feminine and neuter; cf. twain); cognate with German zwei; compare Latin duo, Greek dýo

Can be confusedto too two

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for two

pair, double, couple, team, binary, amphibian, diploid, span, duplicity, dichotomy, twin, duet, brace, duality, bifurcation, twain, twins, dos, deuce, dyad

Examples from the Web for two

Contemporary Examples of two

Interesting that those who sat in judgment of him found those two sets of beliefs to be incompatible.
In Defense of Blasphemy
Michael Tomasky
January 9, 2015
If anything the work the two cops and the maintenance guy were doing deserves more respect and probably helped a lot more people.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie
Arthur Chu
January 9, 2015
Toomey lives here with her husband, Mark, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, and their two daughters.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze
Lizzie Crocker
January 9, 2015
But no more so than the Sodexo building maintenance man or the two cops who were also killed in the crossfire.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie
Arthur Chu
January 9, 2015
France 24's coverage of two developing hostage situations in Paris on Friday.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks
January 9, 2015

Historical Examples of two

She was in a box with two men—one old and one young—and an older woman.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
These two have rallied their host upon his modishly trimmed side-whiskers.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
My doctor says I must let it be for at least two months, and I mean to stick by him.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Mr. Milbrey glanced at the two shells of the orange which the butler was then removing.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
You were scarcely two years old, when you and your nurse suddenly disappeared.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child

British Dictionary definitions for two

two

noun

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one. It is a prime numberSee also number (def. 1)
a numeral, 2, II, (ii), etc, representing this number
music the numeral 2 used as the lower figure in a time signature, indicating that the beat is measured in minims
something representing, represented by, or consisting of two units, such as a playing card with two symbols on it
Also called: two o'clock two hours after noon or midnight
in two in or into two partsbreak the bread in two
put two and two together to make an inference from available evidence, esp an obvious inference
that makes two of us the same applies to me

determiner

1. amounting to twotwo nails
2. (as pronoun)he bought two

Related formsRelated adjectives: binary, double, dualRelated prefixes: di-, bi-

Word Origin for two

Old English twā (feminine); related to Old High German zwā, Old Norse tvau, Latin, Greek duo

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

Word Origin and History for two

Old English twa, fem. and neuter form of twegen "two" (see twain), from Proto-Germanic *twai (cf. Old Saxon and Old Frisian twene, twa, Old Norse tveir, tvau, Dutch twee, Old High German zwene, zwo, German zwei, Gothic twai), from PIE *duwo (cf. Sanskrit dvau, Avestan dva, Greek duo, Latin duo, Old Welsh dou, Lithuanian dvi, Old Church Slavonic duva, first element in Hittite ta-ugash "two years old").

Dance style two-step is recorded from 1900. Twofer is first recorded 1911 (originally in reference to cigars), from two for (a dollar, etc.). Two cheers for _____, expressing qualified enthusiasm first recorded 1951 in E.M. Forster's title "Two Cheers for Democracy." Two-dimensional is recorded from 1883; figurative sense of "lacking substance or depth" is attested from 1934.

Idioms and Phrases with two

two

In addition to the idioms beginning with two

two bits
two can play at that game
two cents
two left feet, have
two of a kind
two shakes of a lamb's tail
two strikes against
two strings to one's bow
two ways about it
two wrongs do not make a right

also see:

fall between the crack (two stools)
for two cents
game that two can play
goody-two-shoes
in two shakes
it takes two
kill two birds with one stone
know all the answers (a thing or two)
lesser of two evils
like as two peas in a pod
no two ways about it
of two minds
put two and two together
that makes two of us
thing or two
wear two hats