Are you ready to learn some idioms and expressions with numbers? Let’s start with some useful information.
what is a number?
A number is a symbol that shows an amount/total or a rank of something e.g.
- 5 boys ran in the race. (amount)
- I came in 1st place. (rank)
Numbers can either be written using their symbol e.g. 1,2,3 or using letters e.g. one, two, three. Numbers are used constantly in English and they are also included in many idioms.
Firstly, do you know the difference between cardinal and ordinal numbers? Click below to find out and see some idioms that contain them.
Here are some more number related idioms.
‘double’ meaning
The word ‘double’ is a synonym of the word twice. It means multiplied by 2. e.g. Shaun is 6 years old and his brother is 3. Shaun is double the age of his brother.
‘dozen’ meaning
The word dozen is a slang word for the number 12. You’ll often hear people saying ‘half a dozen’. This means 6 of something e.g. I need half a dozen eggs for my quiche.
‘million’ meaning
The word ‘million’ is a very large number and requires 6 x 000000’s. e.g. £10 million = £10,000,000.
e.g. If I had £10,000,000, I would buy a mansion.
number idioms
Some idioms idioms contain the word ‘number’. Let’s take a look.
‘once’ meaning
The word ‘once’ is an adverb which means one time only. It is pronounced like ‘wuns’.
other number idioms
Here are some other idioms with larger numbers.
number idioms quiz
Now you’ve learnt the idioms, try to answer these questions:
- Have you ever been on a double date?
- What makes your heart beat 19 to the dozen?
- What food do you eat every once in a while?
- Name an activity you do once in a blue moon?
- When was the last time you felt like a million dollars?
- Are you good at crunching numbers?
