Quantity Meaning
/ˈkwɒn.tɪ.ti/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA fundamental, generic term used when referring to the measurement (count, amount) of a scalar, vector, number of items or to some other way of denominating the value of a collection or group of items.
nounAn indefinite amount of something.
Sentence Examples
Please inform us as to what quantity you can deliver at regular intervals.
In general, consumers prefer quantity to quality.
These goods are greater in quantity than in quality.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The recipe calls for a specific ____ of flour, which is three hundred grams.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The recipe required a large ____ of flour, sugar, and butter to make enough for the whole class.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English quantite, from Old French quantité, from Latin quantitās (“quantity”), from quantus (“how much”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A few comments on the words used in the title of the book and on some related expressions are necessary. A "quantity" is here understood in the sense of "a thing that has the property of being measurable in dimensions, amounts, etc., or in extensions of these which can be expressed in numbers and symbols" (Webster's New World Dictionary of [the American Language], Third Edition, 1988), or of "something having magnitude, or size, extent, amount, and the like" (Random House Webster's College Dictionary, 1991; The New Hamlyn Encyclopaedic World Dictionary, 1988). It is interesting that up to the 1950s a "quantity" was defined as what we now describe as "magnitude" (e.g., the unabridged Webster's New International Dictionary, 1948, gives examples of a sphere's surface being a quantity, its area a magnitude, or a yardstick being a quantity, its length a magnitude). This practice is now obsolete and at present length is a quantity, its numerical value its magnitude."
— 1999, Arnošt Kotyk, “Introduction”, in Quantities, Symbols, Units, and Abbreviations in the Life Sciences: A Guide for Authors and Editors, Humana Press, →ISBN:
"For problems 58-67, translate each word phrase into an algebraic expression. […] 65. x plus 9, the quantity squared"
— 2006, Jerome E. Kaufmann, Karen Schwitters, Elementary and Intermediate Algebra: A Combined Approach, page 89:
"The second, (#92;sumx)², read "summation of x, quantity squared," tells us to first add up all the xs to get #92;sumx and then square #92;sumx to get (#92;sumx)²."
— 2005, R. Mark Sirkin, Statistics For The Social Sciences, page 137:
"ANN. ra quantity cubed.
SERGE LANG. That's right, (ra)³."
— 1985, Serge Lang, Math!: Encounters with High School Students, page 54:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The recipe calls for a specific ____ of flour, which is three hundred grams.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The recipe required a large ____ of flour, sugar, and butter to make enough for the whole class.