countable
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English countable, equivalent to count (“to enumerate”) + -able.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
countable (not comparable)
- Capable of being counted; having a quantity.
- Antonym: uncountable
- (mathematics, of a set) finite or countably infinite; having a one-to-one correspondence (bijection) with a subset of the natural numbers.
- Antonym: uncountable
- (mathematics, of a set) Countably infinite; having a bijection with the natural numbers.
- Synonym: denumerable
- (grammar, of a noun) Freely usable with the indefinite article and with numbers, and therefore having a plural form.
- Antonym: uncountable
- 2014, James Lambert, “Diachronic stability in Indian English lexis”, in World Englishes, page 112:
- In these extracts the word abuse is used in the sense of ‘an individual piece of invective’ or ‘an abusive comment’ and is clearly a countable noun.
Usage notes edit
The mathematics sense by which finite sets are countable is more common than the sense by which finite sets are not countable. To avoid ambiguity, the terms at most countable or countably infinite may be used.
Antonyms edit
Hypernyms edit
- (countably infinite): infinite
Hyponyms edit
- (having a bijection with a subset of the natural numbers): finite, countably infinite
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
capable of being counted, having a quantity
|
math: having a bijection with a subset of the natural numbers
|
math: having a bijection with the natural numbers
|
grammar: freely used with numbers and the definite article
|
Noun edit
countable (plural countables)