Definition

1. Noun:

   • The cardinal number 22: The natural number following twenty-one and preceding twenty-three. It is the product of two and eleven.
   • A .22 caliber firearm: A gun, typically a rifle or pistol, that fires ammunition with a bullet diameter of approximately 0.22 inches.

2. Adjective:

   • Amounting to twenty-two in number: Being two more than twenty; totaling 22.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Number):
  • There are twenty-two students enrolled in the class.
  • The answer to the riddle is twenty-two.
• Noun (Firearm):
  • He learned to shoot with a small twenty-two.
  • The rifle was a bolt-action twenty-two.
• Adjective:
  • She has twenty-two books on the shelf.
  • The team scored twenty-two points in the first half.

Advanced Usage

• "Catch-22": A problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule. This is derived from the title of Joseph Heller's novel.
  • Needing experience to get a job but needing a job to get experience is a classic Catch-22.

Variants and Related Words

• Twenty-second (Adjective & Noun): Constituting number twenty-two in a sequence; the ordinal form. (e.g., ).
• .22 (Noun): A common written abbreviation for a .22 caliber firearm or ammunition.

Synonyms

• XXII (Adjective & Noun): The Roman numeral for twenty-two.
• Two and twenty (Archaic): An older form for the number twenty-two.

Related Phrases

• Twenty-two caliber: The full term describing the specific gun barrel diameter.
  • He bought a box of twenty-two caliber ammunition.

Adjective

1. being two more than twenty

Noun

1. a .22 caliber firearm (pistol or rifle)
2. the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-one and one