Numerals: meaning, definitions and examples

Used when referring to symbols representing numbers, especially in a historical or technical context.

• Roman numerals are often used in clocks.
• The numerals on the ancient manuscript were hard to read.

The most general term that can refer to countable or measurable amounts in a variety of contexts.

• What is your phone number?
• A large number of people attended the event.

Refers to individual numerical symbols from 0 to 9. Often used in the context of mathematics or when emphasizing single elements in a number.

• The number 123 has three digits.
• Please enter the last digit of your phone number.

Commonly used to refer to numerical values, especially statistics, data or when talking about quantities in a more abstract sense.

• The sales figures for this quarter are impressive.
• She was proud of the figure she saw on the scale.

This term is suitable for academic or formal discussions when referring to the symbols used to represent numbers, often in mathematics or technical fields.

• The numerals on the clock face are Roman.
• Arabic numerals are widely used around the world today.

This phrase can be used in educational settings, especially when teaching children about numbers and basic arithmetic. It refers to the word form of numbers, such as 'one', 'two', etc.

• Children learn number words before they learn numerals.
• Let's write the number words for these numbers.

This isn't a commonly used term, but it might be understood in contexts where distinguishing between types of words in language learning or linguistics, especially with reference to grammatical rules about counting.

• In English, we add an 's' to make count words plural.
• Can you identify the count words in this sentence?