four

[ fawr, fohr ]
See synonyms for four on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a cardinal number, three plus one.

  2. a symbol of this number, 4 or IV or IIII.

  1. a set of this many persons or things.

  2. a playing card, die face, or half of a domino face with four pips.

  3. fours, Jazz. alternate four-bar passages, as played in sequence by different soloists: with guitar and piano trading fours.

  4. Automotive.

    • an automobile powered by a four-cylinder engine.

    • the engine itself.

adjective
  1. amounting to four in number.

Idioms about four

  1. on all fours. all fours (def. 3).

Origin of four

1
before 1000; Middle English four, fower,Old English fēower; cognate with Old High German fior (German vier), Gothic fidwor; akin to Latin quattuor,Greek tésseres (Attic téttares)

Words that may be confused with four

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use four in a sentence

  • The party left their horses, put black frocks over their armour, and crept forward on all fours like cattle.

    King Robert the Bruce | A. F. Murison
  • I've no doubt that they've taught him something about—er—bombs and—er—which end a revolver goes off, and how to form fours.

    First Plays | A. A. Milne
  • The smaller forms of these usually move on all fours in the trees, though the arms are always ready for a swing or a climb.

    Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
  • With an angry growl of pain the great beast came down upon all fours and charged the little group.

  • Buster plopped down on all fours, as if he understood perfectly, and took a bite at my shoe string.

    The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for four

four

/ (fɔː) /


noun
  1. the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one

  2. a numeral, 4, IV, etc, representing this number

  1. something representing, represented by, or consisting of four units, such as a playing card with four symbols on it

  2. Also called: four o'clock four hours after noon or midnight

  3. cricket

    • a shot that crosses the boundary after hitting the ground

    • the four runs scored for such a shot

  4. rowing

    • a racing shell propelled by four oarsmen pulling one oar each, with or without a cox

    • the crew of such a shell

determiner
    • amounting to four: four thousand eggs; four times

    • (as pronoun): four are ready

Origin of four

1
Old English fēower; related to Old Frisian fiūwer, Old Norse fjōrir, Old High German fior, Latin quattuor, Greek tessares, Sanskrit catur

Other words from four

  • Related prefixes: quadri-, tetra-

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with four

four

In addition to the idioms beginning with four

  • four corners of the earth, the

also see:

  • between you and me and (the four walls)
  • on all fours

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.