six
six — number
1. the number that comes after five and before seven, used for counting things or p
the number that comes after five and before seven, used for counting things or people.
Eitan puts six red apples in his bag for lunch every day.
six + [plural noun] for counting objects
There are six chairs around the big table in the kitchen.
Renata is six years old, so she will start school next week.
be six years old for age
Eve counted six birds sitting on the garden wall this morning.
- six [plural noun]
- six years old
- six o'clock
- half past six
- page six
- number six
Grammar Patterns
six + [plural noun]
be six (years old)
Usage Note
When talking about age, always include 'years old' — 'She is six' is acceptable in informal speech, but 'She is six years' is incorrect.
Common Mistakes
at sixes and sevens
idiomIn a state of confusion or disorder.
After the move, our house was at sixes and sevens.
Why is your desk always at sixes and sevens?
be six feet under
idiomTo be dead and buried in the ground.
My grandfather has been six feet under for ten years.
If you don't wear a seatbelt, you might end up six feet under.
To shock or upset someone very much.
The news of her father's death knocked her for six.
Losing his job hit him for six and he felt depressed.
Used to say that two choices are equally good or bad.
Should we take the train or the bus? It's six of one and half a dozen of the other.
Both candidates are inexperienced, so it's six of one and half a dozen of the other.
six — noun
1. in cricket, the highest score a batter can earn from one hit — six runs — awarde
in cricket, the highest score a batter can earn from one hit — six runs — awarded when the ball is struck past the field boundary without bouncing first.
Kenji hit a six in the final over and won the match for his team.
hit a six — collocation for scoring six runs
The crowd stood up and cheered when the batter scored a six over the boundary.
Trang's first six of the tournament flew over the bowler and landed in the stands.
possessive + six — my/his/her/Trang's six
Heather smashed the ball for a six that landed on the roof of the pavilion.
- hit a six
- score a six
- six over the boundary
- boundary
a more general term for any hit that reaches the boundary (worth four or six runs); 'six' specifies the maximum score.
Grammar Patterns
hit/score a six
Usage Note
This sense is almost exclusively used in cricket contexts, which is most common in British English and Commonwealth countries. The verb used with 'six' is usually 'hit' or 'score'.
Common Mistakes
2. the written symbol or figure 6, or a set of six people or things considered as o
the written symbol or figure 6, or a set of six people or things considered as one unit.
Write a neat six at the top of the first page of your test paper.
a six — the written digit 6
The teacher divided the class into groups of six for the science project.
groups of six — a set of six people
Zola lives at number six on Green Street, next to the old park.
Valentina's phone number ends with three sixes in a row.
sixes — plural form of the digit six
- number six
- a six
- groups of six
- in sixes
Grammar Patterns
a six (digit/numeral)
in groups of six
number six
Usage Note
Unlike the number sense (which is used before nouns — 'six apples'), this noun sense stands alone as a thing — 'a six', 'the six', 'my six'. It refers to the digit itself, a group, or a label.