quan ‧ ti ‧ ty S3 W2 /ˈkwɒntəti, ˈkwɒntɪti $ ˈkwɑːn-/ BrE AmE noun ( plural quantities )
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: quantité , from Latin quantitas , from quantus 'how much' ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] an amount of something that can be counted or measured
quantity of
The police also found a quantity of ammunition in the flat.
Add 50 grams of butter, and the same quantity of sugar.
a large/small/vast etc quantity of something
He had consumed a large quantity of alcohol.
Huge quantities of oil were spilling into the sea.
in large/small/sufficient etc quantities
Buy vegetables in small quantities, for your immediate use.
Your work has improved in quantity and quality this term.
► Do not say ‘a big quantity’. Say a large quantity.
2 . [uncountable] the large amount of something:
The sheer quantity of text meant that people did not read the whole of their newspaper.
3 . in quantity in large amounts:
It’s a lot cheaper if you buy it in quantity.
⇨ be an unknown quantity at ↑ unknown 1 (4)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a large quantity
A large quantity of clothing was stolen from the shop.
▪ a great quantity (=more formal than 'large')
The Romans imported a great quantity of sculpture from Greece.
▪ a vast/huge/enormous quantity
Computers can handle vast quantities of data.
▪ a considerable/substantial quantity (=a large or fairly large amount)
Dolphins need to eat considerable quantities of food.
▪ a sufficient quantity (=enough)
How did they obtain sufficient quantities of food to survive?
▪ a small quantity
Remove a small quantity of butter from the fridge.
▪ a tiny quantity (=very small)
This truly great wine is only made in tiny quantities.
▪ a minute quantity (=extremely small)
The rock contains minute quantities of copper.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ amount how much of something there is:
Try to reduce the amount of fat in your diet.
|
a tiny amount of poison
▪ quantity a particular amount of food, liquid, or another substance that can be measured – used especially in written descriptions and instructions:
Make sure that you add the right quantity of milk.
|
They buy the wood in large quantities.
▪ volume the amount of something such as business activity or traffic, especially when this is large or increasing:
The volume of traffic on our roads has risen sharply.
|
the huge volume of trade with China
▪ level the exact amount of something at one time, which can go up or down at other times:
They measured the level of alcohol in his blood.
|
There is a high level of unemployment.
▪ proportion the amount of something, compared with the whole amount that exists:
the proportion of road accidents caused by drunk drivers
|
A high proportion of the students were from poor families.
▪ quota a maximum amount of something that can be produced, sold, brought into a country etc:
import quotas on Japanese cars
▪ yield /jiːld/ the amount of something that is produced, especially crops:
this year’s cotton yield