four
Language: English
Part of speech: num
Pronunciation: homophone: fore
homophone: foure
note: without the horse–hoarse merger
enpr: fōr
ipa: /fo(ː)r/
note: Indic, rhotic
ipa: /foɾ/
note: US, rhotic
ipa: /fo(ː)ɹ/
note: US, non-rhotic
ipa: /foə/
note: non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger but with the dough–door merger
enpr: fō
homophone: foe
homophone: faux
note: African-American Vernacular
ipa: /foʊ/
note: Indic
ipa: /fo/
note: rhotic, horse–hoarse merger
enpr: fôr
homophone: for
ipa: /foɹ/
note: non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger
enpr: fô
homophone: for
homophone: faugh
ipa: /fɔː/
ipa: /foː/
Etymology: PIE word
 *kʷetwóres
From Middle English four, from Old English fēower, from Proto-West Germanic *feuwar, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from previous pre-Grimm *petwṓr, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr, the neuter form of *kʷetwóres. Doublet of cuatro and quatre.
Cognates include Scots fower, Saterland Frisian fjauer, West Frisian fjouwer, Dutch vier, German Low German veer, German vier, Norwegian Bokmål and Danish fire, Swedish fyra, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌳𐍅𐍉𐍂 (fidwōr) and, more distantly, Latin quattuor (whence Spanish cuatro, French quatre), Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares), Irish ceathair, Welsh pedwar, Armenian չորս (čʻors), Lithuanian keturi, Albanian katër, Sanskrit चतुर् (catur).
Senses: examples: text: There are four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
text: Venters began to count them—one—two—three—four—on up to sixteen.
ref: 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:
text: Redding’s study asked four psychologists with expertise in anxiety and depressive disorders to rate each self-help book on five criteria: […]
ref: 2019 May 2, Nina Avramova, “When you should use self-help programs and when to skip them”, in CNN:
glosses: A numerical value equal to 4; the number after three and before five; two plus two. This many dots (••••)
glosses: Describing a set or group with four elements.
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from four
word: all fours
sense: Terms derived from four
word: all-fours
sense: Terms derived from four
word: all-run four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: back four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: be lost to the four winds
sense: Terms derived from four
word: between you and me and these four walls
sense: Terms derived from four
word: boundary four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: chaise and four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: clue by four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: clue-by-four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: coach and four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: coxless four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: cul-de-four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: figure four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: finger-four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: flat back four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-acceleration
sense: Terms derived from four
word: Fouracre
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-ale
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four ale
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-ale bar
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-and-nine
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-and-twenty
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four and twenty
sense: Terms derived from four
word: Four Ashes
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-bagger
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-ball
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourball
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-belt
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-by-four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: 4X4
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-by-two
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four by two
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four color
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-color
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-colour
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four color problem
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four color theorem
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four corners
sense: Terms derived from four
word: Four Crosses
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-current
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-cycle
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-dimensional
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-dimensional chess
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-dimensionalism
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-dimensionality
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-dimensionally
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-door
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four door house
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-eyed
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-eyed fish
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-eye principle
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-eyes
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four eyes
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-fifths
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four figures
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four fingers
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four flat
sense: Terms derived from four
word: Four Floors of Whores
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four flush
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-flush
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-flusher
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourfold
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-fold
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-foot
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four foot
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourfooted
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-footed
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-force
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-four time
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four F's
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourgie
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourgon
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourgram
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-half
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-handed
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourhanded
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-hankie
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four horsemen
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four hundred
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-in-hand
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourish
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four L
sense: Terms derived from four
word: Four Lane Ends
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-leaf
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-leaf clover
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-leafed clover
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-leaved clover
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-legged
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-legged emmet
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-legged friend
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-letter
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-letter word
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-lined wave
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourling
sense: Terms derived from four
word: Four Marks
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-master
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-minute warning
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-momentum
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourness
sense: Terms derived from four
word: Four Oaks
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-o'clock
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four o'clock
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-o'clock flower
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four o'clock flower
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four of a kind
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-of-a-kind
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four oh four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four one one
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-on-the-floor
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four on the floor
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourpartite
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-peat
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourpeat
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourpence
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourpenny
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-penny nail
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four penny nail
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourpiece
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four pips
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourplay
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourplex
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-point
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-point Calvinist
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-post bed
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-poster
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-poster bed
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-pounder
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-quadrant
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-ring
sense: Terms derived from four
word: Four-Russians
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four score
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourscore
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-score
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four score and seven years ago
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four score and ten
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four score seven years ago
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-seamer
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-seam fastball
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-seater
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-sheet
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four sheets in the wind
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four sheets to the wind
sense: Terms derived from four
word: Four Shire Stone
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-shooter
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-sided
sense: Terms derived from four
word: foursies
sense: Terms derived from four
word: foursome
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-speed
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourspine
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four square
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-square
sense: Terms derived from four
word: foursquare
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-stacker
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-star
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-string banjo
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-string guitar
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-stroke
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-stroke engine
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-stroking
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourteen
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourth
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four thieves' vinegar
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four thousand
sense: Terms derived from four
word: fourtino
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-top
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-to-the-floor
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-track
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-tracked
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-tracking
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four treasures of the study
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four twenty
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-twenty
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-vector
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-velocity
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-wall
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-waller
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-walling
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-way
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-way cock
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-way stop
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-way switch
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-wheel
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-wheel drive
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-wheel-drive
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-wheeled
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-wheeler
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four-wheeling
sense: Terms derived from four
word: four winds hat
sense: Terms derived from four
word: gang of four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: grade four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: history of the four kings
sense: Terms derived from four
word: last four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: match-four game
sense: Terms derived from four
word: Mother Thumb and her four daughters
sense: Terms derived from four
word: number four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: on all fours
sense: Terms derived from four
word: on fours
sense: Terms derived from four
word: piano four hands
sense: Terms derived from four
word: plus fours
sense: Terms derived from four
word: rare as a four-leaf clover
sense: Terms derived from four
word: rule of four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: stretch four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: sweet four o'clock
sense: Terms derived from four
word: ten-four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: thirty-four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: three-four time
sense: Terms derived from four
word: train-of-four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: twenty-four hour day
sense: Terms derived from four
word: two by four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: two-by-four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: two-four
sense: Terms derived from four
word: two-four time
sense: Terms derived from four
word: vanish to the four winds
sense: Terms derived from four
word: within the four seas
Related terms: word: fourth
word: farthing
word: Table of cardinal numbers 0 to 9 in various languages
sense: Last
word: three
sense: Last
word: 3
sense: Next
word: five
sense: Next
word: 5