six
The number 6
Look for a bus with a number six on the front of it.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
six
number (plural sixes)
6
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
six
six /sɪks/ BrE AmE number
[Language: Old English]
1. the number 6:
six months ago
She arrived just after six (=six o'clock).
He learnt to play the violin when he was six (=six years old).
2. six figures/digits used to talk about a number that is between 100,000 and 1,000,000:
The final cost of the project will easily run into six figures (=be over £100,000 or $100,000).
3. at sixes and sevens informal disorganized and confused:
When the visitors arrived, we were still at sixes and sevens.
4. it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other spoken used to say that both people or groups who are involved in a situation are equally responsible for something bad that happens:
In any family quarrel, it’s usually six of one and half a dozen of the other.
5. knock/hit somebody for six British English spoken to affect someone strongly in a bad way:
Losing his job really knocked him for six.
6. [countable] a hit in ↑cricket that scores six ↑runs because the ball crosses the edge of the playing area before touching the ground
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
six
six [six sixes] [sɪks] [sɪks] number
6 There are examples of how to use numbers at the entry for five.
Idioms: at sixes and sevens ▪ hit somebody for six ▪ it's six of one and half a dozen of the other ▪ six feet under
Word Origin:
Old English siex, six, syx, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zes and German sechs, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin sex and Greek hex.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
six / sɪks / number
A1 the number 6:
Look for a bus with a number six on the front of it.
"How many grandchildren do you have now?" "I've got six."
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
six
[sɪ̱ks]
♦
sixes
1) NUM Six is the number 6.
...a glorious career spanning more than six decades.
2) N-COUNT: usu sing In cricket, if a player hits a six, they score six runs by hitting the ball so that it crosses the boundary at the edge of the playing area before it touches the ground.
3) PHRASE: V inflects If someone or something is hit for six or knocked for six, they are very upset or badly affected by an experience or piece of news. [BRIT, INFORMAL]
The loss of my wife hit me for six; it took me months to recover...
Many areas in the North were knocked for six by that first recession.
4) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR If you say that someone or something is at sixes and sevens, you mean that they are confused or disorganized. [INFORMAL]
The government is at sixes and sevens over the issue of domestic security.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
six
six /ˈsɪks/ noun, pl sixes
1 [count] : the number 6
2 [count] : the sixth in a set or series
• the six of hearts
3 [noncount] : six o'clock
• “What time is it?” “It's six.”
• I leave each day at six.
at sixes and sevens chiefly Brit informal : disorganized and confused
• The change left everyone at sixes and sevens.
• Everything will be at sixes and sevens until our computer system is fixed.
hit/knock (someone) for six Brit informal : to have an unpleasant and shocking effect on (someone)
• The news of the accident really hit me for six.
six of one, half (a) dozen of the other US or chiefly Brit six of one and half a dozen of the other informal
- used to say that you do not see any real difference between two possible choices
• “Which do you prefer?” “I don't care; it's six of one, half a dozen of the other.”
- six adj
• six possibilities/hours
- six pronoun
• Six (of them) will be coming tonight.
