eleven
Noun pluralelevens
Pluralelevens
- 1The number one more than ten and one less than twelve, written 11 in Arabic numerals.
The bakery opens at eleven on weekends.
Eleven of the thirty survey respondents declined to answer.
UsageOften used alone for a time or an age: at eleven, she turned eleven.
- 2A team of eleven players in soccer, cricket, or American football; in schools, the first eleven is the top team.
The manager named an unchanged eleven for Saturday's derby.
The defensive eleven held firm on fourth down to seal the win.
UsageOften the first eleven or a starting eleven.
Note
Soccer and American football share this use because both field eleven players a side. In American sports writing it once stood for a whole college team: J. Conoboy, writing in 1926 about Walter Achiu, praises a halfback's work on "the Flyers' eleven." Today it more often means the eleven players a manager actually names to start. British schools also rank their cricket and soccer sides this way, from the first eleven down to the second and third.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
- Soccer normally fields eleven players per side. theifab.com
- American football fields eleven players per side. static.www.nfl.com
- J. Conoboy published an article about Walter Achiu in 1926. en.wikipedia.org
- Conoboy praised Achiu's work at halfback for a college team, using the exact phrase 'the Flyers' eleven'. en.wiktionary.org
- British schools use first, second and third eleven for their cricket teams. alleynsww1.fireflycloud.net
- British schools also use first, second and third eleven for their soccer teams. mcsoxford.org
- 3A very high level of intensity, as if going beyond the top of a hypothetical one-to-ten scale.
Her stress was at an eleven during finals week.
The new café turned its holiday decorations up to eleven this year.
UsageUsually at an eleven or turned up to eleven.
Note
Here the off-the-charts scale from the "exceptional specimen" meaning measures force rather than quality. The image is of a dial pushed beyond its last marking.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The dial image represents exceeding the conventional maximum of ten. en.wikipedia.org
Less common meaning
- 4An exceptional specimen, particularly a physically attractive person; someone or something rated beyond the top of a one-to-ten scale.
On looks alone, the new bartender is a solid eleven.
My friend swears her new boyfriend is an eleven.
UsageUse an eleven, for example a solid eleven. Rating people's looks this way can sound crude.
Note
American slang that breaks a scale on purpose. On an imaginary one-to-ten rating, a ten is perfect, so an eleven is "off the charts."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The exceptional-specimen sense is labeled American slang. en.wiktionary.org
- Eleven represents a rating beyond a hypothetical one-to-ten scale. en.wiktionary.org
- Ten represents a perfect specimen in the relevant rating convention. en.wiktionary.org
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English eleven, from Old English endleofan, going back to Proto-Germanic *ainalif meaning "one left" (one left over after counting to ten). It combines *ainaz ("one") and *-lif, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ("to stick," hence "to stay"), and is related to Dutch elf, German elf, and Icelandic ellefu.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Eleven descends through Middle English eleven and Old English endleofan from Proto-Germanic *ainalif. en.wiktionary.org
- The Germanic formation means one left over after counting to ten. en.wiktionary.org
- *ainalif combines *ainaz, meaning one, and *-lif. en.wiktionary.org
- The cited reconstruction derives *-lif through *lībaną from *leyp- meaning “to stick”; “leave, remain” belongs to the alternative root *leykʷ-. en.wiktionary.org
- Eleven is related to Dutch elf, German elf, and Icelandic ellefu. en.wiktionary.org