numbnumb1 /nʌm/ ●●○ adjective 
My fingers were so numb I could hardly write. The anaesthetic made his whole face go numb.2unable to think, feel, or react in a normal way SYN paralysednumb with shock/fear/terror etc I just sat there, numb with fear.—numbly adverb: She watched numbly as Matt walked away.—numbness noun [uncountable]: It caused some numbness in my hand.
WORD ORIGINnumb1
Origin:
1400-1500 From the past participle of nim ‘to take’ (11-19 centuries), from Old English nimanEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- His legs grew so numb he couldn't move.
- It was so cold my fingers had gone numb.
- He stuck his hands into his pockets, the fingers numb and red.
- Researchers speculate that this area becomes overloaded and shuts down eventually, leaving the woman numb and clinically depressed.
- She felt numb and tired and surprised herself by managing to sleep deeply and well.
- She felt numb, unable to respond.
- She ran the water out of the basin and held her wrists under the cold tap until they were numb.
- Their taste buds are numb by now.
Longman Language Activatorwhen you cannot feel anything in a part of your body
if part of your body is numb , it does not feel anything, for example because it is very cold or because your blood is not reaching it: · His legs grew so numb he couldn't move.go numb (=become numb): · It was so cold my fingers had gone numb.
to be unable to feel anything in a part of your body, usually permanently, and often because of an accident or illness: · After the stroke, he had no feeling in his left side.· When they found her the next morning, she had no feeling in her toes.
to not be able to feel pain, heat, touch etc in part of your body especially because it is hurt in some way: · Since her motorbike accident, she can't feel anything below the neck.· The doctor pricked his toe with a pin, but he couldn't feel anything.
informal if a part of your body, such as your arm or foot goes to sleep , you have no feeling in it, especially because it has been in the same position for a long time: · Can you stop leaning on me please? My arm's gone to sleep.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The anaesthetic made his whole face go numb. I just sat there, numb with fear.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES We’ve saved a considerable amount of money. a very cushy number (=an easy job or life) Can I take your daytime telephone number (=the number of the telephone you use during the day)? 4305 is a four-digit number. Within two years the company had doubled in size. A promise was given to double the number of police on duty. We’ll need double this amount for eight people. Do you know Mr Brown’s extension number? A growing number of people are taking part-time jobs. The Beatles’ greatest hits. Which band had a hit with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’? There was an infinite variety of drinks to choose from. A large number of students have signed up for the course. There are only a limited number of tickets available. Work out the maximum amount you can afford to spend. Agassi was at that time ranked sixth in the world. a sizeable amount of money Only a relatively small number of people were affected. an area twice the size of Britain An unknown number of people were killed. The system can support an unlimited number of users.
The anaesthetic made his whole face go numb. I just sat there, numb with fear.· What's your card number?
· In 1962 'Love Me Do' reached only number 17 in the charts.
We’ve saved a considerable amount of money. a very cushy number (=an easy job or life) Can I take your daytime telephone number (=the number of the telephone you use during the day)? 4305 is a four-digit number. Within two years the company had doubled in size. A promise was given to double the number of police on duty. We’ll need double this amount for eight people.· Both candidates received an equal number of votes.
· In higher education, women are equal in numbers to men.
· I don’t know the exact amount, but it was a lot.
Do you know Mr Brown’s extension number?· A combination of factors led to the closure of the factory.
· She told Dave that she was his number one fan.
(=a number in the thousands/ten thousands/hundred thousands etc)· Choose a four figure number that you can easily remember.
· Write the flight number on all your luggage labels.
A growing number of people are taking part-time jobs. The Beatles’ greatest hits. Which band had a hit with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’? (=the address or telephone number of your house)
There was an infinite variety of drinks to choose from. A large number of students have signed up for the course. There are only a limited number of tickets available. (=think only of the advantages you can get for yourself)
Work out the maximum amount you can afford to spend.· The crowd interrupted her speech on a number of occasions.
· Can I have your phone number?
(=on a car) Did anyone see the car’s license plate?
Did anyone see the car’s license plate?· Controlling spending is his top priority.
· Pick a random number.
Agassi was at that time ranked sixth in the world.· Pollution in the lake has reached record levels.
· There has been a rise in the number of arrests for drug offences.
a sizeable amount of money Only a relatively small number of people were affected. (=the main suspect)· I was the one who found her. And that makes me the number one suspect for her murder.
an area twice the size of Britain An unknown number of people were killed. The system can support an unlimited number of users.PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► a goodish distance/number etc► somebody’s opposite number► number one/two/three etc seed► shoot to number one/to the top of the charts etc► X number of people/things
1a part of your body that is numb is unable to feel anything, for example because you are very cold: - A little later Bacon appeared, walked up to their table and asked Minton why he did not look after his back numbers.
- Anyway, I thought you ought to know you have your reader back, and I enclose £4 for 4 back issues.
- Lifelong readers who kept the back issues piled in their attics renewed their subscriptions like clockwork at the five-year rate.
- Mackey had seen handbooks on guerrilla tactics, back issues of a racist magazine Guy published.
- My parents collected all their copies of Wimpey News and we have back numbers going back to the 1940s.
- Six issues cost $ 39, and new and back issues are available.
- A $ 7 parking fee and an automatic $ 12. 15 tip brought the total to $ 93. 15.
- By the time it was eventually closed in 1988, new investors had brought the total to £116 million.
- Cruz also said Muni planned to hire at least 12 additional safety staffers, bringing the total to 72.
- It is estimated that this element would bring the total to over 20,000.
- Michael Forbes of New York, already had declared his opposition to Gingrich, bringing the total to four.
- More than 30 square miles have been annexed into the city, bringing the total to 193.
- The armed forces are said to have sent an extra 2,000 troops to the border area, bringing the total to 3,500.
- Books can be entered and modified as can contact details.
- Frequently there is no contact number, so even if we like the music, we can't do much about it.
- Gave the name of his solicitors in London as his contact address.
- The video box illustration carries various official body contact addresses on the back for further information on the river.
- These advertisements generally use a Box number at the publication as the contact address and may be placed by the client.
- These provide the contact details and an indication of charges for more than 20 online brokers.
- This time we have remembered to put our contact numbers below.
- Rats have been branded public enemy No. 1 in Bangladesh.
- She had done nothing wrong, yet between them Rourke and Rebecca were making her feel like public enemy number one.
- Taylor has turned into public enemy number one.
- But a fair number of them went on to greater things.
- It prefers a fair amount of nutritious detritus.
- Scientists must proceed cautiously, moving ahead only with the assent of a fair number of their colleagues.
- Thanks to the inherently leaky nature of the water industry, there is already a fair amount of information to go on.
- That involved a fair amount of travel.
- There was a fair amount going on.
- They'd have a fair bit of tidying up to do before they left.
- You may also be involved in a fair amount of travel.
- It seems fair to assume that she will attract the attention of a goodly number of our countrymen.
- Small Dave had spent a goodly amount of time impressing upon him the importance of finding a camel.
- The Thatcher Years have been splendid ones for a goodly number of golf members throughout this Royal and Ancient land of ours.
- The Maharishi's followers say that 7000 is a magic number.
- Al knew at once that he had heard A very secret magic word.
- Bacon could argue that Antichrist would invoke stellar influences and magic words having the power to produce physical effects.
- Charles would capture one of the boys and only release him if he said the magic word.
- For Geteles and others, potential was the magic word, the answer to all the talk about standards.
- If that magic number is reached, the deal becomes an international treaty.
- Once a patient has his magic number, does it have any effect?
- The magic words had been uttered.
- This is done by listening to a tape and writing on your application form a magic number.
- We manoeuvre in the world constantly looking out for Number One.
- An odd number of classes provides a neutral mid-point.
- An individual scorer might be useful where an odd number of people are concerned.
- Clearly the northern fleet is being reinforced from the southern; but why the odd numbers?
- Erect verticals upon the odd numbers, 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.
- He said that we have to prove that no odd number can be perfect.
- I have no idea why it is always an odd number.
- Three arrangements with eight fences; five with ten fences ... odd numbers ... Was there a pattern?
- You need to have an odd number of colours, including the background.
- Because of the high cost of providing and gathering this information, Climbline would not exist were it not a premium rate service.
- Choice has not been considered in premium rate services.
- That is certainly true in the context of telecommunications and, more specifically, in premium rate services.
- She had done nothing wrong, yet between them Rourke and Rebecca were making her feel like public enemy number one.
- Taylor has turned into public enemy number one.
- Additional disk space is a dollar or two per megabyte per month, depending on total amount.
- Microcell bid only in southern Ontario for a total cost of $ 19.2-million.
- Multiply the number of widths by the number of pattern repeats per drop to give the total number of pattern repeats required.
- The total amount of contributions and tax paid by each employee is entered on the P35.
- The total cost has been several million pounds more than budgeted.
- The total number of jobless rose to 615, 830 from 609, 670.
- The total number of registered voters was 1,732,000 aged 16 and over.
My fingers were so numb I could hardly write. The anaesthetic made his whole face go numb.2unable to think, feel, or react in a normal way SYN paralysednumb with shock/fear/terror etc I just sat there, numb with fear.—numbly adverb: She watched numbly as Matt walked away.—numbness noun [uncountable]: It caused some numbness in my hand.