four
Noun pluralfours
Pluralfours
- 1The number 4, one more than three.
Four friends shared one pizza.
We need four chairs for the table.
UsageWrite fourth and fourteen, but forty with no u.
- 2The written sign that stands for the number 4.
He drew a four on the board.
The phone number has three fours in it.
- 3Something that measures four units, especially in length.
He sorted the fours from the longer boards.
The boards come in three-foot and four-foot lengths, so hand me a four.
Less common meanings
- 4The time of day when the clock shows four o'clock.
Let's meet at four for coffee.
School ends at four every afternoon.
UsageSay at four for four o'clock.
Note
- 5A child who has reached the age of four years.
The class for fours meets in the morning.
Most of the fours in her preschool class already knew all their letters.
- 6A playing card with four marks of its suit, or a side of a die or domino with four dots.
I need a four to win this hand of cards.
She rolled a four and moved her piece around the corner.
UsageSay the four of hearts or roll a four.
- 7In rowing, the team of four rowers who race a boat together.
The four trained together on the river before the regatta.
Their four won by a clear length.
Note
- 8A long, narrow racing boat for four rowers, each pulling one oar.
They carried the four down to the water.
Our club bought a new four last spring.
Note
- 9In cricket, a hit worth four runs, usually when the ball reaches the edge of the field after touching the ground.
Like scoring four points with a single shot.
She scored a four with a powerful drive.
The batsman needed two fours to win the match.
Similarboundary
Note
- 10A serving of strong drink that cost four pennies, sold in earlier times.
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 ScarletHere, four means a small serving of liquor that cost four pennies.Note
- 11In rowing, a race at a regatta for boats with crews of four.
- 12In basketball, a strong, usually tall player who plays as the power forward.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
This is the number word 'four'. It comes from Old English 'fēower' and goes all the way back to an ancient root meaning four.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Four is the number word for 4. en.wiktionary.org
- Four comes from Old English fēower. en.wiktionary.org
- Four ultimately descends from an ancient root meaning four. en.wiktionary.org
- The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European ancestor means four. en.wiktionary.org