1 quantities | Definition of quantities

quantity

noun
quan·​ti·​ty | \ ˈkwän-tÉ™-tÄ“ How to pronounce quantity (audio) \
plural quantities

Definition of quantity

1a : an indefinite amount or number
b : a determinate or estimated amount
c : total amount or number
d : a considerable amount or number often used in plural generous quantities of luck— H. E. Putsch
2a : the aspect in which a thing is measurable in terms of greater, less, or equal or of increasing or decreasing magnitude
b : the subject of a mathematical operation
c : an individual considered with respect to a given situation an unknown quantity … as attorney general— Tom Wicker
3a : duration and intensity of speech sounds as distinct from their individual quality or phonemic character specifically : the relative length or brevity of a prosodic syllable in some languages (such as Greek and Latin)
b : the relative duration or time length of a speech sound or sound sequence
4 : the character of a logical proposition as being universal, particular, or singular

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Examples of quantity in a Sentence

The wine is made in small quantities. The boss is worried about quantity as well as quality. The family buys food in quantity.
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Recent Examples on the Web

Scaling back can mean adding quality, not quantity to the holiday season. Lizz Schumer, Good Housekeeping, "Beat Holiday Stress by Making No — or Few — Plans This Year," 3 Sep. 2019 About 40 different liquors will be available at the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board’s limited release event in Montgomery on Aug. 24, with some in limited quantities. Mike Cason | [email protected], al, "What liquors are on list for ABC Board sweepstakes event?," 1 Aug. 2019 Nowhere is this principle deployed more obviously than on Amazon’s Lightning Deals page, which features a rotating assortment of thousands of products that are on sale for only a few hours, and only at limited quantities. Hilary George-parkin, Vox, "2019’s most fun meme, explained.," 15 July 2019 The doll, produced in a limited quantity, comes with a stand, a Certificate of Authenticity, and an image collage of Bowie’s early career. Nick Romano, EW.com, "Barbie gets dolled up as David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust," 12 July 2019 Tenuta delle Terre Nere’s Mr. de Grazia also makes a 100% Carricante white, the Cuvée Delle Vigne Niche Santo Spirito Bianco—a wine as complex as its name—but only in very limited quantities. Lettie Teague, WSJ, "Sicily’s Under-the-Radar Whites: Great Wines If You Can Get Them," 11 July 2019 In this case, though, what matters is quality, not quantity. Zachary Lewis, cleveland.com, "Dance world heads to Cleveland for Dance/USA 2019 Annual Conference," 6 June 2019 Ostrov said the party is focusing on candidate quality, not quantity. Audrey Mcavoy, The Seattle Times, "Diminished Hawaii Republicans aim to incrementally rebuild," 23 Oct. 2018 This downward trend in turnout has persuaded theater owners to focus on quality, not quantity. Kyle Stock, Bloomberg.com, "How Two Million People Loved MoviePass Nearly to Death," 16 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'quantity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of quantity

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a