number one

Also found in: Thesaurus, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

number one

1. One that is first in rank, order, or importance.

2. Slang One's own interests; oneself: watching out for number one.

3. Informal

a. The act of urinating.

b. Urine.

adj.

1. First in rank, order, or importance: the number one team in the nation; our number one problem.

2. Foremost in quality; first-rate: bought some number one farmland.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

number one

1. the first in a series or sequence

2. an informal phrase for oneself, myself: to look after number one.

3. informal the most important person; leader, chief: he's number one in the organization.

4. informal the bestselling pop record in any one week

5. euphemistic the act or an instance of urination

6. (Hairdressing & Grooming) a haircut in which the hair is cut very close to the head with an electric shaver

adj

7. first in importance, urgency, quality, etc: number one priority.

8. informal (of a pop record) having reached the top of the charts

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

num′ber one′

1. oneself, esp. one's own well-being.

adj.

2. of the highest quality; first-rate: a number one performance.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	number one - a reference to yourself or myself etc.; `take care of number one' means to put your own interests first colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech self - a person considered as a unique individual; "one's own self"
	2.	number one - the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted to be the first" first former - the first of two or the first mentioned of two; "Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the former is remembered today" rank - relative status; "his salary was determined by his rank and seniority"
	3.	number one - the first element in a countable series; "the first of the month" number 1, first no., ordinal, ordinal number - the number designating place in an ordered sequence

number one

noun

A leading contestant:

front-runner, leader.

adjective

Most important, influential, or significant:

capital, cardinal, chief, first, foremost, key, leading, main, major, paramount, premier, primary, prime, principal, top.

Translations

uno

numărul unu

козырной

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

'In a little community like ours, my dear,' said Fagin, who felt it necessary to qualify this position, 'we have a general number one, without considering me too as the same, and all the other young people.'

View in context

`Everybody look after himself, and take care of number one'?"

View in context

"I admit that Number One leaves much to be desired--much to be desired; but Number Two shows a marked advance along certain lines, and I am sure that tomorrow will divulge in experiment Number Three such strides as will forever silence any propensity toward scoffing which you may now entertain."

View in context

"Yes," said Dorothy, and wound up Number One, under the left arm.

View in context

And yet for Number One they will go through fire and water, and for Number Two they won't so much as turn their heads to look at him.

View in context

"So that's angel number one?" said the prince when Varenka had gone on.

View in context

'When I say number one,' pursued Mr Squeers, putting the mug before the children, 'the boy on the left hand nearest the window may take a drink; and when I say number two, the boy next him will go in, and so till we come to number five, which is the last boy.

View in context

Number one, I can't get acquainted with you in the office.

View in context

Number one hundred and twenty-seven is 'Government'; which at least makes sense, though somewhat irrelevant to ourselves and Professor Moriarty.

View in context

After this invention there was no longer Number One, Two, and Three Grade--there was only Number One Grade.

View in context

This, then, is the way by which Number One entered.

View in context

In that room he found three gentlemen; number one doing nothing particular, number two doing nothing particular, number three doing nothing particular.