two
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.
amounting to two in number.
Idioms about two
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
1Words that may be confused with two
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use two in a sentence
Inside the guild, men in caps and long gowns sit in twos, weaving together in small rooms.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech | Liza Foreman | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThey marched silently in twos behind him as he drove a heavily loaded wagon pulled by one horse.
When Robert E. Lee Met John Brown and Saved the Union | Michael Korda | May 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI should have been more aware of that, instead of foolishly thinking I was somehow protected by being liked by his Number Twos.
Graham thought the Senate Minority Leader had a pair of twos while McCain thought McConnell had no cards at all.
"It's still in its terrible twos," is how one Obama administration official puts it.
Exclusive: White House Struggles to Replace Janet Napolitano at DHS | Daniel Klaidman | September 25, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
He was starting to make his conquest backed by one twenty, three fives, four twos, and ninety cents in silver.
Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington KellandAfter the lapse of a fortnight, the leaves are gathered by twos, and from these the best tobaccos are produced.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.Those that I now saw were yoked in twos or threes to large waggons, full of stones for mending the roads.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferThe world was hurrying by—in twos and threes—hurrying to warm cafés, to friends, to lovers.
The Real Latin Quarter | F. Berkeley SmithWhen she was able to sit up they would come by twos and threes and bring their work and chat until she was tired.
Girls and Women | Harriet E. Paine (AKA E. Chester}
British Dictionary definitions for two
/ (tuː) /
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one. It is a prime number: See 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 parts: break 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
amounting to two: two nails
(as pronoun): he bought two
Origin of two
1Other words from two
- Related adjectives: binary, double, dual
- Related prefixes: di-, bi-
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 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
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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