four

Less common meanings

4. 4
   time of daynouncountable or uncountable

   The hour of four o'clock, in the morning or the afternoon.

   The train leaves at four sharp.

   By four, the office had nearly emptied.

   Usageat four; add in the morning or in the afternoon when it matters.

   Note

   Thomas Carlyle could even write "at this late hour of four" in 1864. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Thomas Carlyle wrote the quoted phrase. gutenberg.org
5. 5
   preschoolernouncountable or uncountable

   A young child who is four years of age.

   The nursery keeps the fours apart from the threes.

   At the preschool, the fours all wanted a turn on the slide.

6. 6
   nouncountable

   A playing card showing four symbols of its suit, or a face of a die or half of a domino marked with four spots.

   He laid down the four of spades and took the trick.

   She matched his domino with a four and a blank, and the line kept growing.

   Usagethe four of spades, a pair of fours; with dice, roll a four.

7. 7
   team of rowersnouncountable or uncountable

   In rowing, a crew of four rowers, each pulling one oar, with or without a coxswain to steer.

   The four rowed in perfect time down the course.

   After the final, the four hoisted their oars and celebrated their medal together.

   Note

   The people take the name of the boat they row. "Our four won both races" credits the crew, while "a new four" means the hull bought for them. Context does all the separating. A verb of winning, training or celebrating points to the rowers; buying, lifting or racking points to the shell.

8. 8
   nouncountable or uncountable

   In rowing, a narrow racing boat rowed by a crew of four, with or without a coxswain.

   The four glided smoothly past the boathouse.

   She helped lift the four onto the rack after practice.

   Note

   Rowing names its boats by how many rowers they carry, and a four is a sweep boat, in which each of the four rowers pulls a single oar. It may carry a coxswain to steer or go without one. Rowers distinguish the two as the coxed four and the coxless four, and that is the clearest way to specify the boat. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • Rowing boat names reflect the number of rowers. usrowing.org
   • A four carries four sweep rowers. britishrowing.org
   • Each sweep rower uses one oar. britishrowing.org
   • A four can have a coxswain who steers, or have no coxswain. britishrowing.org
9. 9
   boundary shotnouncountable

   In cricket, a scoring shot, usually one that bounces before crossing the boundary, that earns the batting team four runs.

   A crisp cover drive sent the ball to the rope for a four.

   He finished the over with three fours and a single.

   Similarboundary

   Note

   Cricket names its scoring shots by what they earn, and this one is decided by the ground. A ball that bounces or rolls before crossing the boundary is a four. One that clears the boundary without touching down is a six. Less often, a four is run: the batsmen cross between the wickets four times. The score is the same, but it is earned on foot rather than by reaching the boundary. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • A scoring shot that bounces or rolls to the boundary normally earns four runs. en.wikipedia.org
   • A shot clearing the boundary without first touching the ground within the field is a six. lords.org
   • All-run fours are comparatively uncommon. cricket.com.au
   • Four runs can be earned by running between the wickets without reaching the boundary. nswcusa.com.au
10. 10
    nounobsoletecountable or uncountable

    A measure of spirits priced at four pence, served in old public houses.

    I was a-strollin' down, thinkin' between ourselves how uncommon handy a four of gin hot would be, when suddenly the glint of a light caught my eye in the window of that same house.

    1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

    Note

    A drink named for its price rather than its size: four pennies' worth of spirits. It is followed by "of" and the spirit, as in Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet (1887), where a speaker longs for "a four of gin hot." The word is obsolete. Today it belongs to historical fiction and the reading of nineteenth-century prose, not to ordering at a bar. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • Four denotes spirits worth four pence, specifying price rather than a fixed volume. en.wiktionary.org
    • The construction uses of followed by the spirit's name. gutenberg.org
    • Arthur Conan Doyle wrote A Study in Scarlet. gutenberg.org
    • A Study in Scarlet was first published in 1887. en.wikisource.org
    • A fictional speaker, John Rance, wishes for a drink described with the exact words a four of gin hot. gutenberg.org
11. 11
    noun

    In rowing, a race or regatta event for boats with four rowers, each pulling one oar.
12. 12
    noun

    In basketball, the power forward position, or the player who fills it.