seven

seven — number

1. the number that comes after six and before eight, written as the digit 7; used f

1.numberA1
Definition

the number that comes after six and before eight, written as the digit 7; used for counting things, telling age, and referring to time.

Example

Heather invited seven friends to her birthday party at the park.

counting with seven + plural noun

Kenji woke up at seven o'clock and made himself a cup of tea.

time expression: seven o'clock

Common collocations
  • seven days
  • seven o'clock
  • seven years old
  • seven times
  • number seven
  • page seven

Grammar Patterns

seven + plural noun

seven of + determiner + noun

seven as subject/object

Usage Note

This sense is the cardinal number used for counting quantity. For position in a sequence, use the ordinal form 'seventh' (e.g. 'her seventh birthday').

Common Mistakes

She finished seven in the race.
She finished seventh in the race.
'seven' counts quantity; 'seventh' shows position or rank.
Idioms

at sixes and sevens

idiom

in a state of confusion, disagreement, or disorganization; not properly planned or arranged.

The office was at sixes and sevens after the manager announced sudden changes to the schedule.

Dario's plans for the weekend were all at sixes and sevens after the flight was cancelled.

the seven-year itch

idiom

the idea that after about seven years of marriage, one partner may become bored and want a new relationship or experience.

The movie 'The Seven Year Itch' with Marilyn Monroe popularized the idea of marital restlessness.

Some couples joke about the seven-year itch when they reach their anniversary.

the seven wonders of the world

idiom

a list of seven remarkable ancient structures, including the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Femi learned about the seven wonders of the world in his history class and wanted to visit each one.

the seven deadly sins

idiom

in Christian tradition, a set of seven serious faults in human character: pride, greed, anger, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth.

The novel explored each of the seven deadly sins through the actions of its main characters.

seven — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four terms refer to the same sport, but they differ in formality and context. 'Rugby sevens' is the full official name used in formal writing, competition rules, and news reports. 'Sevens' is a common shortened form in sports journalism and casual conversation ('She plays sevens for the national team'). 'Seven-a-side' is a descriptive term that focuses on the team size; it is less official and more often used when contrasting with fifteen-a-side rugby. '7s' is a written abbreviation seen in tournament branding, fixture lists, and scoreboards (e.g., 'Hong Kong 7s'). In formal academic or journalistic writing, prefer 'rugby sevens'; for informal contexts or headlines, 'sevens' or '7s' works well.

sevensrugby sevensseven-a-side7s

Common collocations

Nouns

  • group of seven
  • set of seven
  • age of seven
  • team of seven

Phrases

  • seven out of ten
  • seven in ten
  • all seven
  • seven in a row

Prepositions

  • at seven
  • by seven
  • before seven
  • after seven
  • of seven

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

The word 'seven' comes from Old English 'seofon', which developed from the Proto-Germanic '*sebun'. This root traces back to the Proto-Indo-European '*septḿ̥', meaning seven. The same ancient root produced Latin 'septem' (source of French 'sept', Spanish 'siete', Italian 'sette'), Greek 'heptá', and Sanskrit 'saptá'. The near-identical sound across many language families shows how stable this number word has remained for thousands of years.