Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - count

(counts, counting, counted) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. When you count, you say all the numbers one after another up to a particular number. He was counting slowly under his breath... Brian counted to twenty and lifted his binoculars. VERB: V, V to num 2. If you count all the things in a group, you add them up in order to find how many there are. I counted the money. It was more than five hundred pounds... I counted 34 wild goats grazing... With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, the Liberals should win nearly a third of the seats. VERB: V n, V num, V-ed, also V • Count up means the same as count. Couldn’t we just count up our ballots and bring them to the courthouse? PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P • counting The counting of votes is proceeding smoothly. N-UNCOUNT: usu the N of n 3. A count is the action of counting a particular set of things, or the number that you get when you have counted them. The final count in last month’s referendum showed 56.7 per cent in favour... N-COUNT: usu supp N 4. You use count when referring to the level or amount of something that someone or something has. A glass or two of wine will not significantly add to the calorie count... N-COUNT: n N see also blood count, pollen count 5. You use count in expressions such as a count of three or a count of ten when you are measuring a length of time by counting slowly up to a certain number. Hold your breath for a count of five, then slowly breathe out... N-SING: N of num 6. If something or someone counts for something or counts, they are important or valuable. Surely it doesn’t matter where charities get their money from: what counts is what they do with it... When I first came to college I realised that brainpower didn’t count for much... = matter VERB: V, V for amount 7. If something counts or is counted as a particular thing, it is regarded as being that thing, especially in particular circumstances or under particular rules. No one agrees on what counts as a desert... Two of the trucks were stopped because they had tents in them, and under the commanders’ definition of humanitarian aid, that didn’t count... They can count it as a success. VERB: V as n/-ing/adj, V, V n as n 8. If you count something when you are making a calculation, you include it in that calculation. It’s under 7 percent only because statistics don’t count the people who aren’t qualified to be in the work force... The years before their arrival in prison are not counted as part of their sentence. = include VERB: V n, be V-ed as n, also V n as n 9. You can use count to refer to one or more points that you are considering. For example, if someone is wrong on two counts, they are wrong in two ways. ‘You drink Scotch,’ she said. ‘All Republicans drink Scotch.’—‘Wrong on both counts. I’m a Democrat, and I drink bourbon.’ N-COUNT: on supp N 10. In law, a count is one of a number of charges brought against someone in court. He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. N-COUNT: usu N of n 11. If you keep count of a number of things, you note or keep a record of how many have occurred. If you lose count of a number of things, you cannot remember how many have occurred. The authorities say they are not able to keep count of the bodies still being found as helicopters search the area... She’d lost count of the interviews she’d been called for. PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR of n 12. If someone is out for the count, they are unconscious or very deeply asleep. (INFORMAL) PHRASE: v-link PHR 13. If you say that someone should stand up and be counted, you mean that they should say publicly what they think, and not hide it or be ashamed of it. Those involved and benefiting from the scandal must be prepared to stand up and be counted. PHRASE 14. to count your blessings: see blessing COUNT (Counts) A Count is a European nobleman with the same rank as an English earl. Her father was a Polish Count. N-COUNT; N-TITLE; N-VOC COUNT AGAINST If something counts against you, it may cause you to be rejected or punished, or cause people to have a lower opinion of you. He is highly regarded, but his youth might count against him. PHRASAL VERB: V P n