count
verb/kaʊnt/
/kaʊnt/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they count | /kaʊnt/ /kaʊnt/ |
| he / she / it counts | /kaʊnts/ /kaʊnts/ |
| past simple counted | /ˈkaʊntɪd/ /ˈkaʊntɪd/ |
| past participle counted | /ˈkaʊntɪd/ /ˈkaʊntɪd/ |
| -ing form counting | /ˈkaʊntɪŋ/ /ˈkaʊntɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] to say numbers in the correct order
- Billy can't count yet.
- count (up) to something She can count up to 10 in Italian.
- count from something (to/up to something) to count from 1 to 10
Extra ExamplesTopics Maths and measurementa2- He can now count from one to twenty.
- We counted up to fifty, then set off to look for our friends.
Definitions on the go
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- [transitive, intransitive] to calculate the total number of people, things, etc. in a particular group
- count something (up) They're still counting votes in Texas.
- I can't count the number of times I've eaten there (= I've eaten there very many times).
- The diet is based on counting calories.
- count (up) how many… She began to count up how many guests they had to invite.
- count from… There are twelve weeks to go, counting from today.
Extra ExamplesTopics Maths and measurementa2- She carefully counted the remaining coins and put them to one side.
- We counted up our money.
- [transitive] count somebody/something to include somebody/something when you calculate a total
- We have invited 50 people, not counting the children.
- The tour guide was sure one person was missing from the group until she realized she had forgotten to count herself.
- [intransitive] (not used in the progressive tenses) to be important synonym matter
- It is going to be a close election, so every vote counts.
- Every point in this game counts.
- With our busy lives today we have less and less time for what really counts.
- It's the thought that counts (= used about a small but kind action or gift).
- count for something The fact that she had apologized counted for nothing with him.
- [intransitive, transitive] to be officially accepted; to accept something officially
- Don't go over that line or your throw won't count.
- The goal wouldn't have counted anyway, because the linesman's flag was up for offside.
- The home team's manager protested that the run should count.
- count something Applications received after 1 July will not be counted.
- [intransitive, transitive] to consider somebody/something in a particular way; to be considered in a particular way
- count (somebody/something) as somebody/something For tax purposes that money counts/is counted as income.
- count somebody/something/yourself among somebody/something I count him among my closest friends.
- count somebody/something/yourself + adj. I count myself lucky to have known him.
- count somebody/something/yourself + noun She counts herself one of the lucky ones.
- I count it a privilege to have served alongside her.
say numbers
find total
include
matter
accept officially
consider
Word Originverb Middle English (as a noun): from Old French counte (noun), counter (verb), from the verb computare ‘calculate’, from com- ‘together’ + putare ‘to settle (an account)’.
Idioms
See count in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee count in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English…and counting
- used to say that a total is continuing to increase
- The movie's ticket sales add up to $39 million, and counting.
be able to count somebody/something on (the fingers of) one hand
- used to say that the total number of somebody/something is very small
- She could count on the fingers of one hand the people she actually enjoyed being with.
- Although she knew lots of people, she could count her friends on the fingers of one hand.
count your blessings
- to be grateful for the good things in your life
count the cost (of something)
- to feel the bad effects of a mistake, an accident, etc.
- The town is now counting the cost of its failure to provide adequate flood protection.
count sheep
- to imagine that sheep are jumping over a fence and to count them, as a way of getting to sleep
don’t count your chickens (before they are hatched)
- (saying) you should not be too confident that something will be successful, because something may still go wrongTopics Successc2
stand up and be counted
- to say publicly that you support somebody or you agree with something
- Everyone needs to stand up and be counted in order to make them see the strength of our conviction.
who’s counting?
- (informal) used to say that you do not care how many times something happens
- I've seen the film five times, but who's counting?
Check pronunciation:
count