From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe numbersthe numbersDGG a) information about something that is shown using numbers Chris, have you got the numbers yet? b) an illegal game in the US in which people risk money on the appearance of a combination of numbers in a newspaper playing the numbers → number
Examples from the Corpus
the numbers• In Oxford, although the numbers of infected heterosexuals are low, they're rising dramatically.• Such individuals will then continue to breed, and the numbers will not sink as rapidly as the population controllers would like.• Get Charlie to look at the numbers and develop a business plan.• The finding documented apparent voter fraud, but the numbers were nowhere near enough to change the results of the election.• Given the numbers of the disadvantaged, critics of Treasury ridicule the whole proposal.• Some of the numbers were underlined and some were circled.• playing the numbers• See the numbers, he said.• In actual fact, we do know now a great deal more than when the numbers game began.• Once in a while, the numbers fall, the abacus clicks into a pattern. 