quantity

noun

quan·​ti·​ty ˈkwän-tə-tē 

plural quantities

1

a

: 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

2

a

: 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

3

a

: 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

Synonyms

• abundance
• barrel
• basketful
• boatload
• bucket
• bunch
• bundle
• bushel
• carload
• chunk
• deal
• dozen
• fistful
• gobs
• good deal
• heap
• hundred
• lashings [chiefly British]
• lashins
• loads
• lot
• mass
• mess
• mountain
• much
• multiplicity
• myriad
• oodles
• pack
• passel
• peck
• pile
• plateful
• plenitude
• plentitude
• plenty
• pot
• potful
• profusion
• raft
• reams
• scads
• sheaf
• shipload
• sight
• slew
• spate
• stack
• store
• ton
• truckload
• volume
• wad
• wealth
• yard

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Known as indie dyers, these companies deal in smaller quantities — often from a specific breed of sheep — and use higher quality bases. —Janice Phelan, Kansas City Star, 2 Apr. 2025

One big issue is fertilizers, which are applied in large quantities to coffees grown in open fields. —Marta Zaraska, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2025

Paranoid was just reissued in a special black vinyl, which was only made available in limited quantities. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025

Remove excessive quantities of tree leaves from home lawns before mowing. 20. —Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English quantite, from Anglo-French quantité, from Latin quantitat-, quantitas, from quantus how much, how large; akin to Latin quam how, as, quando when, qui who — more at who

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing quantity

• in quantity
• known quantity
• quantity surveyor
• quantity theory
• unknown quantity

Kids Definition

quantity

noun

quan·​ti·​ty ˈkwän(t)-ət-ē 

plural quantities

1

a

: an amount or number that is not fixed

b

: a great amount or number

buys food in quantity

2

a

: the character of something that makes it possible to measure or number it

b

: something on which a mathematical operation can be performed

multiply the quantity x by y

Etymology

Middle English quantite "amount," from early French quantité (same meaning), derived from Latin quantus "how much?, how large?"