count
Noun pluralcounts
Formscounts, counting, counted
Pluralcounts
- 1To find out how many things there are in a group.
Like pointing at each toy one by one to see how many you have.
She counted the coins in the jar before bedtime.
Count the apples and tell me how many there are.
Note
- 2The act of counting things, or the number you get when you count them.
Like the number on the scoreboard after all the points are added up.
The final count showed twelve people in the room.
Her count was wrong, so she started again.
UsageSay you lost count when you forget how many.
- 3To say numbers in order, like one, two, three.
Like singing the numbers from one all the way up.
The toddler can count to ten now.
She counted slowly so everyone could follow along.
UsageSay count to ten.
- 4A European nobleman of high rank, below a duke.
Like a lord who is in charge of a large area of land.
The count lived in a grand castle on the hill.
A French count once owned all this land.
UsageA woman with this title is a countess.
- 5
- 6
- 7One of the separate charges against someone in a court case.
Like a list where each line is a separate accusation the court looks at on its own.
He was found guilty on the first count.
The jury cleared her on every count.
UsageSay two counts of theft, or guilty on one count.
Similarcharge
Note
- 8To think of something as a certain kind of thing, or to be accepted as that kind.
Like calling someone a friend because of how you think of them.
I count her among my closest friends.
He counted himself lucky to escape unhurt.
UsageSay count yourself lucky, or count her among your friends.
Note
- 9A backward sequence of numbers spoken down to zero before an event starts.
Like saying 'three, two, one, go!' before a race.
The crew waited for the count to reach zero before launch.
Engineers stopped the count just two minutes before launch.
Similarcountdown
Less common meanings
- 10
- 11In baseball, the number of balls and strikes a batter has so far.
Like a running score of good and bad pitches before a batter's turn ends.
With a full count, the batter fouled off three straight pitches.
The pitcher fell behind in the count early in the inning.
UsageBalls come first: 3-2 means three balls and two strikes.
- 12Showing how many of the same items are inside a package.
Like the number on a box that tells you it holds 12 cookies.
We bought a 24-count pack of juice boxes.
The store sells a 12-count box of markers.
UsageSay a 24-count pack.
- 13Describing a noun you can count, such as in 'two dogs' or 'five books.'
Like things you can point at one by one, such as apples in a bowl.
The word 'book' is a count noun, so 'three books' makes sense.
'Dog' is a count noun, but 'sand' is not.
UsageSay count noun. The opposite is mass noun.
Similarcountable
Oppositemass, uncountable, noncount
Note
- 14To take notice of something, or to care about it.
Note
- 15Worth, value, or the importance given to something.
When he was readie to his steede to mount / Vnto his way, which now was all his care and count.
1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie QueeneHere, count means what he valued most, the thing he cared about.Note
- 16To argue a legal case out loud in a court of law.
Note
- 17
- 18A changed spelling of a very rude swear word, used mostly to insult someone.
- 19A kind of broad-winged butterfly in a group whose other members are called earls and viscounts.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
It came through Old French from Latin computō, meaning "I compute." It is a doublet of compute.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Count came through Old French from Latin computō. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin computō means “I compute.” en.wiktionary.org
- Count and compute are doublets. en.wiktionary.org
It came through Old French from Latin comes, meaning "companion," used for a noble who fought beside the king.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- The noble title count came through Old French from Latin comes. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin comes meant companion. en.wikipedia.org
- Comes was used for a noble who fought beside the king. en.wiktionary.org