eight

[eyt]

noun

1. a cardinal number, seven plus one.

2. a symbol for this number, as 8 or VIII.

3. a set of this many persons or things, as the crew of an eight-oared racing shell.

4. a playing card the face of which bears eight pips.

5. Informal.

   1. an automobile powered by an eight-cylinder engine.

   2. an eight-cylinder engine.

adjective

1. amounting to eight in number.

eight

/ eɪt /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of one and seven and the product of two and four See also number

2. a numeral, 8, VIII, etc, representing this number

3. music the numeral 8 used as the lower figure in a time signature to indicate that the beat is measured in quavers

4. the amount or quantity that is one greater than seven

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

6. rowing

   1. a racing shell propelled by eight oarsmen

   2. the crew of such a shell

7. Also called: eight o'clock. eight hours after noon or midnight

8. slang,  to be drunk

9. See figure of eight

determiner

1. 1. amounting to eight

   2. ( as pronoun )

      I could only find eight

Word History and Origins

Origin of eight¹

before 1000; Middle English eighte, Old English ( e ) ahta; cognate with Dutch acht, Old Saxon, Old High German ahto ( German acht ), Old Norse ātta, Gothic ahtau, Latin octō, Greek oktṓ, Old Irish ocht, Welsh wyth, Breton eiz, Tocharian B okt, Lithuanian aštuonì, Albanian tetë, Armenian uth, Persian hasht, Sanskrit aṣṭáu; apparently an old dual in form, but not clear of what

Word History and Origins

Origin of eight¹

Old English eahta; related to Old High German ahto, Old Norse ātta, Old Irish ocht, Latin octō, Greek okto, Sanskrit astau

Idioms and Phrases

see behind the eight ball.

Example Sentences

"And whilst I was isolated, the press... were able to beat me up in the dark. That's been happening for about the last eight years. And I chose to leave the UK."

From BBC

Similarly, in the Tuffah neighbourhood - where Israeli strikes killed at least eight people on Thursday, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency - more buildings have been levelled.

From BBC

After Labour lost control of eight English councils and lost the seat of Hartlepool in a parliamentary by-election in May 2021, the deputy leader was removed from her post as party chairwoman.

From BBC

The Chargers are eight months removed from a hopelessly flat showing in a first-round playoff loss to the Houston Texans.

From Los Angeles Times

Ripken had jogged into the dugout but emerged for eight curtain calls, waving to the crowd and tapping his heart.

From Los Angeles Times

When To Use

Spelling tips for 8

The word eight (8) is hard to spell because it is not spelled the way it sounds [ eyt ]. There are a number of silent letters. How to spell eight: The easiest way to remember how to spell eight is with the classic mnemonic device: “I before E, except after C, except when it’s pronounced like a long A, as in neighbor and weigh.” The collection of letters eigh often makes a long A sound. To this, you simply add the t at the end: eight.