four

num, noun — 12 senses

four

num

UK [fɔː] · AU, UK, NZ [foː]

Etymology

PIE word *kʷetwóres Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr Proto-Germanic *fedwōr Proto-West Germanic *feuwar Old English fēower Middle English four English four From Middle English four, from Old English fēower, from Proto-West Germanic *feuwar, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from previous pre-Grimm *petwṓr, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr, the neuter form of *kʷetwóres. Doublet of cuatro and quatre. Cognates include Scots fower, Saterland Frisian fjauer, West Frisian fjouwer, Dutch vier, German Low German veer, German vier, Norwegian Bokmål and Danish fire, Swedish fyra, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌳𐍅𐍉𐍂 (fidwōr) and, more distantly, Latin quattuor (whence Spanish cuatro, French quatre), Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares), Irish ceathair, Welsh pedwar, Armenian չորս (čʻors), Lithuanian keturi, Albanian katër, Sanskrit चतुर् (catur).

1

A numerical value equal to 4; the number after three and before five; two plus two. This many dots (••••)

  • There are four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
  • Venters began to count them—one—two—three—four—on up to sixteen.1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:
1 more example
  • Redding’s study asked four psychologists with expertise in anxiety and depressive disorders to rate each self-help book on five criteria: […]2019 May 2, Nina Avramova, “When you should use self-help programs and when to skip them”, in CNN, archived from the original on 13 Jun 2025:
2

Describing a set or group with four elements.

Derived terms
221 termsall-fours, all fours, all-run four, back four, be lost to the four winds, between you and me and these four walls, boundary four, chaise and four, clue-by-four, clue by four, coach and four, coxless four, cul-de-four, figure four, finger-four, flat back four, four-acceleration, Fouracre, four ale, four-ale, four-ale bar, four-and-nine, four and twenty, four-and-twenty, Four Ashes, four-bagger, four-ball, fourball, four-belt, four-by-four, 4X4, four-by-two, four by two, four color, four-color, four-colour, four color problem, four color theorem, four corners, Four Crosses, four-current, four-cycle, four-day week, four-day weekend, four-dimensional, four-dimensional chess, four-dimensionalism, four-dimensionality, four-dimensionally, four-door, four door house, four-eyed, four-eyed fish, four-eye principle, four-eyes, four eyes, four-fifths, four figures, four fingers, four flat, Four Floors of Whores, four flush, four-flush, four-flusher, four-fold, fourfold, four foot, four-foot, fourfooted, four-footed, four-force, four-four time, four F's, fourgie, fourgon, fourgram, four-half, four-handed, fourhanded, four-hankie, four horsemen, four hundred, four-in-hand, fourish, four L, Four Lane Ends, four-leaf, four-leaf clover, four-leafed clover, four-leaved clover, four-legged, four-legged emmet, four-legged friend, four-letter, four-letter man, four-letter word, four-lined wave, fourling, Four Marks, four-master, Four Mile Creek, four-minute warning, four-momentum, four more years, fourness, Four Oaks, four o'clock, four-o'clock, four-o'clock flower, four o'clock flower, four of a kind, four-of-a-kind, four oh four, four one one, four-on-the-floor, four on the floor, fourpartite, fourpeat, four-peat, fourpence, fourpenny, four penny nail, four-penny nail, fourpiece, four pips, fourplay, fourplex, four-point, four-point Calvinist, four-post bed, four-poster, four-poster bed, four-pounder, four-quadrant, four-ring, Four-Russians, fourscore, four score, four-score, four score and seven years ago, four score and ten, four score seven years ago, four-seamer, four-seam fastball, four-seater, four-sheet, four sheets in the wind, four sheets to the wind, Four Shire Stone, four-shooter, four-sided, foursies, foursome, four-speed, fourspine, four-square, foursquare, four square, four-stacker, four-star, four-string banjo, four-string guitar, four-stroke, four-stroke engine, four-stroking, fourteen, fourth, four thieves' vinegar, four thousand, fourtino, four-top, four-to-the-floor, four-track, four-tracked, four-tracking, four treasures of the study, four twenty, four-twenty, four-vector, four-velocity, four-wall, four-waller, four-walling, four-way, four-way cock, four-way stop, four-way switch, four-wheel, four-wheel drive, four-wheel-drive, four-wheeled, four-wheeler, four-wheeling, four winds hat, gang of four, grade four, history of the four kings, last four, match-four game, Mother Thumb and her four daughters, number four, on all fours, on fours, piano four hands, plus fours, rare as a four-leaf clover, rule of four, stretch four, sweet four o'clock, ten-four, thirty-four, three-four time, train-of-four, twenty-four hour day, two-by-four, two by four, two-four, two-four time, vanish to the four winds, vinegar of the four thieves, within the four seas
Related terms
fourth, farthing, Table of cardinal numbers 0 to 9 in various languages, three, 3, five, 5

four

noun
Etymology

PIE word *kʷetwóres Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr Proto-Germanic *fedwōr Proto-West Germanic *feuwar Old English fēower Middle English four English four From Middle English four, from Old English fēower, from Proto-West Germanic *feuwar, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from previous pre-Grimm *petwṓr, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr, the neuter form of *kʷetwóres. Doublet of cuatro and quatre. Cognates include Scots fower, Saterland Frisian fjauer, West Frisian fjouwer, Dutch vier, German Low German veer, German vier, Norwegian Bokmål and Danish fire, Swedish fyra, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌳𐍅𐍉𐍂 (fidwōr) and, more distantly, Latin quattuor (whence Spanish cuatro, French quatre), Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares), Irish ceathair, Welsh pedwar, Armenian չորս (čʻors), Lithuanian keturi, Albanian katër, Sanskrit चतुर् (catur).

10 senses
  1. 1The digit or figure 4; an occurrence thereof.
  2. 2Anything measuring four units, as length.
  3. 3Four o'clock.
  4. 4A person who is four years old.
  5. 5An event in which the batsmen run four times between the…
  6. 6A power forward.
  7. 7The shell itself.
  8. 8The crew rowing in a four boat.
  9. 9A regatta event for four boats.
  10. 10A four-pennyworth of spirits.
1

The digit or figure 4; an occurrence thereof.

2

Anything measuring four units, as length.

  • Do you have any more fours? I want to make this a little taller.
3

Four o'clock.

  • Letters to Sheffield are despatched every morning at six, and arrive every afternoon at ten minutes past four.1828, Pigot and Co.'s National Commercial Directory for 1828-9, Comprising a Directory of the Merchants, Bankers, Professional Gentleman … in the Counties of Cheshire, Cumberland …, London; Manchester: J. Pigot & Co., page 767:
  • Frederick, I presume, at this late hour of four, may be snatching a morsel of dinner; […]1865, Thomas Carlyle, chapter IX, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume VI, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:
1 more example
  • The larger ships picked up the low lying atoll on their radar about four in the morning at distances from 16 to 26 miles.1972, George Carroll Dyer, chapter XVII, in The Amphibians Came to Conquer: The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner, volume 2, U.S. Marine Corps, →OL, page 657:
4

A person who is four years old.

  • I'll take the threes, fours and fives and go to the playground.
5

Ball games, Cricket, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports An event in which the batsmen run four times between the wickets or, more often, a batsman hits a ball which bounces on the ground before passing over a boundary, resulting in an award of 4 runs for the batting team. If the ball does not bounce before passing over the boundary, a six is awarded instead.

6

Ball games, Basketball, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A power forward.

› Four-man sweep racing shell, with or without…

7

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Rowing, Sports The shell itself.

  • The team bought a new four last season.
8

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Rowing, Sports The crew rowing in a four boat.

  • Our four won both races.
9

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Rowing, Sports Colloquial A regatta event for four boats.

  • We got third place in the varsity four.
10

Obsolete A four-pennyworth of spirits.

  • 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, section IV:
Derived terms
rouf
Related terms
4, 肆, 四, Δ΄, δ΄, IV, IIII

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.