I. ˈkau̇nt verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English counten, from Middle French conter, compter, from Latin computare to reckon, compute, from com- + putare to consider, think — more at pave
transitive verb
1.
a. : to indicate, name, or separate (units out of a body of units) one by one or group after group to find the total number of units involved or concerned : number , tally , reckon
count the pages of a manuscript
— sometimes used with up or over
count up the money in the register
b. : to tell over or name the numbers in regular order up to and including (a specified number)
count ten before answering
c. : to include in a tallying and reckoning
about 100 people present, counting women and children
d. : to compute or tally mechanically and record a total
a machine that counts cars crossing the bridge
e. : to call aloud (beats or time units) especially in the practicing of a musical composition
count eighth notes
f.
(1) : to recollect or keep track of the number of cards that have been played in (a specified suit)
count trumps
(2) : to estimate or mentally reconstruct the distribution of cards in (another player's hand)
(3) : to count the points in (a hand of cards) — compare point count
2.
a. : consider , account , regard , judge
count oneself lucky
the true dignity of man … is counted folly — W.E.Channing
b. : estimate , esteem
he counted it nothing that his follower had sacrificed his life
c. : to record as of a particular opinion or persuasion
count me as uncommitted
stand and be counted
d. dialect : suppose , guess , reckon
I count there's three of them coming
3. : to amount to : have a total of
they counted 30 — Lord Byron
intransitive verb
1. archaic : to think much of something : care about something : take account
no man counts of her beauty — Shakespeare
2.
a. : to recite or indicate the numbers in order
a little child who could not count
count by fives
: count the units in a group
interrupted while he was counting
b. : to mark the time by counting aloud the beats in a musical composition
3.
a. : to rely or depend on someone or something in plans or calculations — used with on or upon
the man they counted on in this crisis — Stuart Cloete
: look forward to, expect, or plan on something with assured confidence
count on clear weather
counting on his car to get him there on time
b. : to expect, predict, or take something into consideration — usually used with on
they count on winning
he had not counted on paying and had brought no money
4. English law , obsolete : to plead in court : state a complaint in court
5. : to add up : amount in number : total — sometimes used with up
it counts up to a sizable sum
6.
a. : to have value, meaning, weight, significance, or importance
landscape counts in the character of a place, but people count more — H.L.Davis
: merit consideration : be of consequence or account
these are the men who really count
b. : to be of account : have status or rank : become classed or regarded
achievements such as the TVA have counted for far more … than our military power — M.W.Straight
the things that counted so much with us when we were young — Louis Bromfield
7. : to make a score
counted twice in the third inning
Synonyms:
tell , enumerate , number : count is likely to call attention to the finding of a total without minimizing the notion of numbering units or groups in the process of attaining to that total
as many as 30 bonfires could be counted within the whole bounds of the district — Thomas Hardy
tell , now archaic in suggestion, may center attention on the fact of units being counted
telling one's beads
a shepherd telling his sheep
enumerate may suggest counting up or totaling with specific and clear treatment of each item
Pliny enumerates among the trees of Syria the date, pistachio, fig, cedar, juniper, terebinth, and sumac — P.K.Hitti
among the enumerated powers, we do not find that of establishing a bank or creating a corporation — John Marshall
number may suggest either limited allotting or precise ordering in sequence
the days of every man are numbered
to number the volumes on the shelf
Synonym: see in addition rely .
•
- count coup
- count heads
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English counte, from Middle French conte, compte, from Late Latin computus computation, from Latin computare to reckon, compute
1. : the action or process of numbering, counting, or reckoning
completing the count of the ballots
2.
a. archaic : a reckoning of money, goods, or conduct
call to count — Edmund Spenser
: account ; specifically : a statement of stewardship or managing
b. : formulation of a total arrived at by examination of a sample
a count of white corpuscles
c. : population enumeration : census
3. archaic : consideration as important : estimation , regard
4. : number or sum total obtained by counting : enumeration , tally
the official count came to over a hundred
5.
a. : allegation , charge ; specifically : a particular allegation or charge separately stating the cause of action or prosecution in a legal declaration or indictment
the jury found him innocent on the first count , guilty on the second and third
guilty on all counts
b. : the declaration in common-law pleading when the plaintiff has but one cause of action and makes but one statement of it
c. : a specific point under consideration : issue
disagreeing on this count
6.
a. : the calling off of the seconds from one to ten when a boxer has been knocked down
took a count of nine before getting up
b. : the number of balls and strikes charged to a baseball batter at one turn
a full count of 3 and 2
c. : the number of bowling pins knocked down with the first bowl of a frame that is added to a spare in the previous frame
d. : an estimate of the number of cards in each suit that were originally dealt to or are still held by another player
take a count on the opponents' hands
e. : point count in bridge
f. : a point or points scored in a game or the total points that have been scored up to any particular time
the count now stands at 15-30
7.
a. : an oyster, terrapin, or food fish of a size reckoned as standard or above a specified minimum size — used chiefly in selling by the number
b. : a stem bearing nine or more hands of bananas
c. : the number of sheets of paper or board that make up a given weight or unit
8.
a. : a system of measuring yarns by the number of hanks or yards per pound and indicating size or fineness
b. : the number of warp yarns and weft yarns per inch in a textile fabric — compare pick V 2b
9. : an indication by an enumerating device of an ionizing event (as the arrival of a cosmic-ray particle) or of the total number of such events in a given period ; also : a single ionizing event — compare counting tube
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French conte, comte, from Late Latin comit-, comes, from Latin, associate, companion, one of the imperial court or train, literally, one who goes with another, from com- + -it-, -es (from ire to go) — more at issue
: a European nobleman whose rank corresponds to that of a British earl