From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishquantityquan‧ti‧ty /ˈkwɒntəti $ ˈkwɑːn-/ ●●● S3 W2 noun (plural quantities) 1 [countable, uncountable]AMOUNT an amount of something that can be counted or measuredquantity of The police also found a quantity of ammunition in the flat. Add 50 grams of butter, and the same quantity of sugar.a large/small/vast etc quantity of something He had consumed a large quantity of alcohol. Huge quantities of oil were spilling into the sea.in large/small/sufficient etc quantities Buy vegetables in small quantities, for your immediate use. Your work has improved in quantity and quality this term. ► Don’t say ‘a big quantity’. Say a large quantity.► see thesaurus at amount2 [uncountable]LOT/LARGE NUMBER OR AMOUNT the large amount of something The sheer quantity of text meant that people did not read the whole of their newspaper.3 → in quantity → be an unknown quantity at unknown1(4)COLLOCATIONSadjectivesa large quantityA large quantity of clothing was stolen from the shop.a great quantity (=more formal than ‘large’)The Romans imported a great quantity of sculpture from Greece.a vast/huge/enormous quantityComputers can handle vast quantities of data.a considerable/substantial quantity (=a large or fairly large amount)Dolphins need to eat considerable quantities of food.a sufficient quantity (=enough)How did they obtain sufficient quantities of food to survive?a small quantityRemove a small quantity of butter from the fridge.a tiny quantity (=very small)This truly great wine is only made in tiny quantities.a minute quantity (=extremely small)The rock contains minute quantities of copper.
Examples from the Corpus
quantity• A quantity of cocaine was found in Larsson's apartment.• Make sure that you add the correct quantity of water.• Conflicts are resolved by choosing a rule instance which refers to the most recently created quantity.• An enormous quantity of chemical waste has been dumped in the river.• Use equal quantities of flour and butter.• After developing the infrastructure and getting the ball rolling, the mine churned out great quantities of lead and silver.• The food, although mainly low in nutritive value, unappetizing and depressingly monotonous, was at least adequate in quantity.• Thieves escaped with a large quantity of cigarettes after breaking into a shop in Cramlington, Northumberland.• Police are investigating a burglary in which a small quantity of jewellery was stolen.• Expensive spices, like saffron, are only produced in small quantities.• Reducing the amount of fruiting buds lowers the quantity, but raises the quality of the grapes produced.• The price varies depending on the quantity purchased.• They had delivered the correct total quantity of tins but half of them were packed in cases of 24 tins each.quantity of• There large quantities of bacteria in the water.From Longman Business Dictionaryquantityquan‧ti‧ty /ˈkwɒntətiˈkwɑːn-/ noun (plural quantities)1[countable] an amount of something that can be counted or measuredA small quantity of our oil is sold to France.Stock managers have raised huge quantities of cash.Citrus fruits are grown but not in commercial quantities (=amounts large enough to be sold).2[uncountable] used to talk about how much of something there isThe quantity and quality of personnel is inadequate.3in quantity in large amountsWe offer special prices if you buy in quantity.4a known/an unknown quantity someone or something that people know something about or know very little aboutThe new director is a known quantity, having served as finance administrator to the company from 1986 to 90.The administration of an annuity is an unknown quantity and the charge may rise from the current 1%.Origin quantity (1200-1300) Old French quantité, from Latin quantitas, from quantus “how much” 