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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

number one en · ADJ

Pronunciation

Etymology

Piecewise doublet of numero uno.

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic, not-comparable) First; foremost; best, often used after its headword.
    • Commuting to work is the number one reason to own a car.
    • He is my enemy number one.
    • Road safety is a daily tragedy that doesn’t seem to make the front pages even though it’s a number one killer. In some countries, it causes more deaths than small firearms, and in others, more than illnesses. 2024 July 8, Lotte Knudsen, quotee, “Road crashes: a silent killer”, in Delegation of the European Union to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva, archived from the original on 10 Jul 2024:
  2. (US, not-comparable, slang) Black, African-American.

Descendants

namba wan

Translations (14)

fi ykkös- (first, foremost, best) · ko 넘버원 (first, foremost, best) · fi tärkein (first, foremost, best) · cmn 頭號 /头号 (first, foremost, best) · gl un (first, foremost, best) · gl uns (first, foremost, best) · fi suurin (first, foremost, best) · tr bir numara (first, foremost, best) · yue 頭號 /头号 (first, foremost, best) · gl unha (first, foremost, best) · fi numero yksi (first, foremost, best) · ja ナンバーワン (first, foremost, best) · vi số một (first, foremost, best) · gl unhas (first, foremost, best)

number one en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

Piecewise doublet of numero uno.

Meanings

  1. The most important person, the one who is in charge.
  2. Someone who is top of a ranking, who is ranked first.
    • The phone rings, in the middle of the night / My father yells "what you gonna do with your life" / Oh, daddy, dear, you know you're still number one / But girls, they wanna have fun / Oh, girls just wanna have... 1979, Robert Hazard, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, in She's So Unusual, performed by Cyndi Lauper, published 1983:
    • Djokovic came through 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 to end Nadal's reign as Wimbledon champion, before overtaking the Spaniard as world number one on Monday. 2011 July 3, Piers Newbury, “Wimbledon 2011: Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in final”, in BBC Sport:
  3. Oneself, being considered foremost, as by an egoist.
    • No man should have more than two attachments—the first, to number one, and the second to the ladies; that's what I say—ha! ha! 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:
  4. (childish, euphemistic) Urine; urination.
    • He might have got up, without the bell's sounding, to do his number one, or number two, in his great big white chamber-pot. 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:
  5. The single that has sold the most in a given period.
  6. The main goalkeeper of a team, so-called because they wear the number 1 on the back of their kit.
    • England number one Hart produced a magnificent moment to deny Van Persie once more just after the hour mark, leaping across his goal to fingertip the Dutchman's crashing 25-yard, top corner-bound drive away. 2011 January 5, Jonathan Stevenson, “Arsenal 0 - 0 Man City”, in BBC:
  7. The batsman who opens the batting.
  8. A first lieutenant.
  9. A large town where theatrical performances may expect to achieve success.
  10. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see number, one.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
number ones Number=Plur lexicographic

Coordinates

number three · and so on · number two

Deriveds

go number one · Christmas number one · number one with a bullet · do number one · look out for number one

Translations (30)

sv nummer ett (urine or urination euphemism) · fr numéro un (top-ranking person) · ja ナンバーワン (someone who is in charge) · hi पेशाब (urine or urination euphemism) · cs malá potřeba (urine or urination euphemism) · ru гла́вный (top-ranking person) · cs malá (urine or urination euphemism) · nl kleine boodschap (urine or urination euphemism) · ru ста́рший (someone who is in charge) · ru по-маленькому (urine or urination euphemism) · ja 小 (urine or urination euphemism) · mk ма́ла ну́жда (urine or urination euphemism) · tr küçük (urine or urination euphemism) · fr petite commission (urine or urination euphemism) · ru гла́вный (someone who is in charge) · sv litet ärende (urine or urination euphemism) · hi मूत्र (urine or urination euphemism) · ru гла́вное лицо́ (top-ranking person) · pl jedynka (urine or urination euphemism) · tr küçük tuvalet (urine or urination euphemism) · fi pieni hätä (urine or urination euphemism) · ru ма́лое де́ло (urine or urination euphemism) · es aguas menores (urine or urination euphemism) · pt número um (urine or urination euphemism) · ru ма́лая нужда́ (urine or urination euphemism) · hi मूत (urine or urination euphemism) · ta ஒன்னுக்கு (urine or urination euphemism) · lt mažas reikalas (urine or urination euphemism) · sw haja ndogo (urine or urination euphemism) · el ψιλό (urine or urination euphemism)