Definition

1. Cardinal Number:

   • The cardinal number equivalent to the sum of eight and one; represented by the symbol 9.

2. Noun:

   • A symbol, name, or group representing this number.
   • A playing card marked with nine symbols (pips).
   • A baseball team, consisting of nine players.

3. Adjective:

   • Amounting to nine in number.

Examples

• Cardinal Number / Noun:

  • She has nine apples.
  • The number after eight is nine.
  • He drew the nine of hearts from the deck.

• Adjective:

  • There are nine planets in the solar system (according to the old model).
  • The recipe requires nine eggs.

Advanced Usage

• "to the nines": To a great or elaborate degree; perfectly or extravagantly.
  • She was dressed to the nines for the gala.
• "nine times out of ten": Almost always; very frequently.
  • Nine times out of ten, he takes the bus to work.
• "a stitch in time saves nine": (Proverb) Tackling a problem early prevents it from becoming much worse and requiring more effort later.
  • I fixed the leak immediately—a stitch in time saves nine.

Variants and Related Words

• Ninth (adj., n.): Constituting number nine in a sequence; the ordinal form.
  • This is her ninth birthday.
  • He finished in ninth place.
• Ninety (n., adj.): The cardinal number that is ten times nine (90).
• Ninefold (adj., adv.): Nine times as great or as numerous; consisting of nine parts.

Synonyms

• IX (Roman numeral).
• Niner (informal, used in radio communications to avoid confusion).

Related Phrases

• Cloud nine: A state of perfect happiness; euphoria.
  • She's been on cloud nine since she got the promotion.
• The whole nine yards: Everything possible or available; the full extent.
  • They went the whole nine yards for the wedding.
• A cat has nine lives: Cats are proverbially tough and likely to survive accidents.
  • He survived another crash—like a cat has nine lives.

Adjective

1. denoting a quantity consisting of one more than eight and one less than ten

Noun

1. one of four playing cards in a deck with nine pips on the face
2. a team of professional baseball players who play and travel together
   • each club played six home games with teams in its own division
3. the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one