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Glite Dictionary
nth

nth

3 7.0
Of a very large or final number in a series
  • adjective
  • /ɛnθ/
translation icon : n-ésimo
  • I've explained this concept to you for the nth time, but it still seems unclear.
  • to the nth degree
  • for the nth time

The largest realization is the NTH order statistic OK.

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Examples

  • I will state again for the nth time that I'm not one of them.

    Blog text (9)

  • Here were two old men who epitomized to the nth degree suspicion and hatred of their fellows and a desire to gather together to themselves everything they could lay their hands on.

    Academic text (2016)

  • And I like went to the NTH degree to make sure of that.

    Rich Roll

  • I will protect you to the NTH degree, right.

  • And I'm competitive to the NTH degree, but it became more than a game for me.

    Ed Mylett

  • And to repeat for the Nth time, is not the basis of his reasoning or his vote.

    Blog text (5)

  • It feels like everything is planned out to the NTH degree.

  • FOR THE Nth TIME: I am not saying that it is true, sir.

    Blog text (34)

  • Janet wondered, for the nth maddening time, where Nick had gone after English this morning.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Every nth voter was given a brief questionnaire to complete as they left the polling place.

    Academic text (2013)

Synonyms

umpteenth
vsnth
  • Informal
9 6.5

Said when something has happened many times before, often too many times

is broader, meaning an unspecified extreme or very large position rather than just repetition
zillionth
vsnth
  • Informal
1 8.2

A very large number that is not exact

is used more widely to mark an unspecified extreme or repeated instance

Idioms

to the nth degree
3 6.1

Very extreme in every way

How Many

nth
3 7.0
countless
245 2.5
many
9 1.0
a few
∞ 1.0
one
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

nth positive

Morphology

nth = n (transparent) = n + th

Formed by the variable 'n' plus the ordinal suffix '-th', so the meaning as 'the unspecified/large ordinal n' is directly derived.

Etymology

The word nth comes from the letter n that stands for any number in math, together with the ending -th that turns a number into an order, like 'fourth'. So nth means 'some last or very large number' or an unspecified item in a list, which is why saying 'to the nth degree' means doing something 'a lot' or to an extreme.