ordinal

adjective (ordinal); noun (an ordinal, ordinals)

«ordinal» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

(maths) An ordinal number shows the place or position of something in order: first, second, third, fourth and so on. tree →

In the lessons

In maths and English: ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd) vs cardinal numbers (1, 2, 3). Used for places in a race, floors of buildings, positions in a line. Phrases: ordinal number, ordinal position.

Examples

First, second and third are ordinal numbers. tree →
She came 3rd in the race; "third" is an ordinal. tree →
The ordinal of five is fifth. tree →
Our flat is on the fourth floor. tree →
Write the ordinals 1st to 10th in words. tree →
He was the 21st person in the queue. tree →

Note

Ordinals tell position; cardinals tell how many. Short forms: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th; then -th, but 21st, 22nd, 23rd, while 11th, 12th, 13th use -th. Spelling traps: fifth, eighth, ninth, twelfth. For numbers: if Sam is 4th in a line, 3 people are in front of him.

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «ordinal» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«ordinal» in the school dictionary on Mova free.

This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/ordinal/