uncountable
Americanadjective
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not countable; incapable of having the total precisely ascertained.
uncountable colonies of bacteria; uncountable kindnesses and small favors.
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indefinitely large in number; infinite.
the uncountable days of eternity.
adjective
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too many to be counted; innumerable
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linguistics denoting a noun that does not refer to an isolable object See mass noun
Etymology
Origin of uncountable
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at un- 1, countable
Explanation
Things that are uncountable are too numerous to be calculated or added up, like the uncountable stars in the sky. Some things are clearly uncountable, like the infinite digits in the number pi or the blades of grass in your town park. There's literally no way you could possibly count them all. Other things could theoretically be tallied, but they're still uncountable — at least metaphorically. If you're totally overwhelmed by a huge surprise birthday party, the crowds of guests might seem uncountable, leaving you longing for a quiet celebration with your two best friends.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He trained himself to anticipate what Trump might say by watching uncountable hours of Trump footage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
That is, of course, what viruses do all the time, a prime example being the uncountable number of mutations undergone by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024
Each rotifer can create between 348,000 - 366,000 per day, leading to uncountable swarms of nanoparticles in our environment.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2023
I’ve taken uncountable trips to the grocery store, and scores of rides to the office or the Metro or to meet friends for a night out.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2023
At the height of the American chestnut blight, every woodland breeze would lose spores in uncountable trillions to drift in a pretty, lethal haze on to neighboring hillsides.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
