DictionaryAI

nine

NYN/naɪn/

Noun pluralnines

6 meanings of nine

Practice

  1. 1
    numeral
    The number 9, one more than eight; a group or set of nine people or things.

    Multiply three by itself and you get nine.

    She answered nine of the ten questions correctly.

    UsageThe ordinal is ninth (not incorrect: nineth), though ninety keeps the e. Also go the whole nine yards.

  2. 2
    written figurenouncountable
    The written character or figure that stands for the number 9.

    She wrote a nine that looked more like a seven.

    The teacher showed the class how to form their nines neatly.

  3. 3
    playing cardnouncountable
    A playing card bearing nine pips, ranking between the eight and the ten in its suit.

    She laid down the nine of clubs and took the trick.

    A pair of nines beat his single high card.

    UsageNamed by suit: the nine of hearts. Matching cards: a pair of nines, three nines.

    Note

    Its rank within a suit can vary, and what it is worth in scoring depends entirely on the game at the table.

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    baseball teamnouncountable
    A baseball team, club, or lineup, so called because it fields nine players.

    The visiting nine scored four runs in the opening inning.

    Two rival nines met for the season's final game.

    UsageUsually with a word naming the side: the home nine, the visiting nine, two rival nines.

    Similarteam, side, club

    Note

    Sports writing has long used the number of players as a name for the team. The Chicago Times of 1877 could call the St. Louis club "the only nine in the league."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Nine has long denoted a baseball team, referring to its nine players. en.wiktionary.org
    • The Chicago Times used the quoted wording about the St. Louis club in 1877; the citation specifies July 8. en.wikipedia.org
  2. 5
    handgunnounslangcountable
    A semi-automatic pistol that fires nine-millimeter ammunition.

    She drew a nine from her holster during the drill.

    Both guards were issued nines for the night shift.

    Note

    Here the caliber stands for the whole gun: nine-millimeter shrinks to nine, and the pistol takes the name of its cartridge. Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash (1992) uses it this way when Hiro gathers extra ammunition for his nine.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Nine denotes a nine-millimeter pistol, supporting the explanation that its caliber supplies the shortened name. en.wiktionary.org
    • Neal Stephenson wrote Snow Crash, first published in 1992. en.wikipedia.org
    • Snow Crash uses nine for Hiro's pistol while describing his gathering extra ammunition; this is narration, not dialogue. en.wiktionary.org
  3. 6
    noun
    A unit of proportion counted by the number of nines in a figure such as 99.99%, used to express reliability or purity.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of nine apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

"Nine" comes from Middle English "nyne" and Old English "nigon", from Proto-Germanic *newun, from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁néwn̥ meaning "nine". It is related to Dutch "negen", German "neun", Latin "novem", Ancient Greek "ennéa", and Sanskrit "navan".

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

  • English nine descends from Middle English nyne and Old English nigon. en.wiktionary.org
  • Old English nigon descends from Proto-Germanic *newun. en.wiktionary.org
  • Proto-Germanic *newun descends from Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥, meaning nine. en.wiktionary.org
  • Dutch negen and German neun are cognates of English nine. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin novem and Ancient Greek ennéa are cognates of English nine. en.wiktionary.org
  • Sanskrit navan is a related form; návan is the traditional grammatical stem of náva, nine. en.wiktionary.org