number one
436
1.7
- noun
- /ˈnʌmbər wʌn/
:
número uno
- And tonight, we played the number-one team in the country.
- number one priority
- number one reason
- rank number one
Then Trump turned to America's number one threat, wind.
- Then Trump turned to America's number one threat, wind.
- The first one was to be the number one player in high school.
- OK, product number one is the face wash.
- So that will be my number one book without a doubt.
- Hey Siri, play the number one song on the charts.
- Well, I, I think it is the number one issue we face.
- And racism is certainly America's number one worst crime hands down.
- This is the not just the number one cable news channel.
- Inflammation for me is like the number one beauty thief.
Examples
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I am the world's number one mystery writer.
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In the competition, her performance was clearly number one among all the participants.
-
So that will be my number one book without a doubt.
-
Well, I, I think it is the number one issue we face.
-
Well, it was the number one method for many years.
-
Scott, what is your number one favorite product?
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We already got the number one pick.
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Protecting intellectual property continues to be the number one challenge in global design.
Academic text (2008) -
It's already the number one most-requested song of the week, and we're playing it all day long.
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Educators thrive on success in accomplishing their number one goal -- helping young people learn.
Academic text (1992)
Synonyms
343
2.1
The top position in a competition or race
7
1.0
A person or thing that comes before others in order
3
4.6
The most important position with the highest priority
3
9.3
A clear top item on charts or rankings that is much more popular than others
2
7.3
The most important person in a group of people who have the same position
Antonyms
How Important
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the most important person/priority' is directly derivable from combining 'number' (a rank) with 'one' (first), so the sense of being 'first' or 'top priority' is transparent. The pragmatic extension to refer to 'yourself' or to putting your own interests first is a natural, cross-linguistically common extension of 'being number one', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Number one comes from lists and scoreboards where the person or thing with '1' is at the top. So being number one means being 'first', 'best', or the most important.