eleven
A1Neutral (Used in all registers from formal to informal)
Definition
Meaning
The cardinal number equivalent to the sum of ten and one; 11.
Used to denote a group or team of eleven players (as in cricket, football), or the time of day (11 o'clock). Can informally refer to the number itself in various contexts (e.g., elevenses, the eleventh hour).
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily a numeral or determiner. In sports contexts, it functions as a noun meaning 'a team of eleven players'. The ordinal form is 'eleventh'.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
The word itself is identical. Potential differences arise in related cultural contexts (e.g., 'elevenses' as a mid-morning break is chiefly British).
Connotations
Neutral in both varieties. In sports, 'the eleven' is a common metonym for a sports team.
Frequency
Equally frequent in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[number] + eleven + [plural noun] (e.g., eleven people)[be] + eleven + [unit] + old (e.g., is eleven years old)[at] + eleven (o'clock)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Neutral
Weak
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “the eleventh hour (the last possible moment)”
- “elevenses (UK: a mid-morning snack)”
- “dressed up to the elevens (very dressed up, rare variant of 'nines')”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
'The board meeting is scheduled for eleven.'
Academic
'The data set comprised eleven distinct variables.'
Everyday
'I'll meet you at eleven outside the cafe.'
Technical
'The error code displayed was 0x0B (eleven in hexadecimal).'
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The word is not used as a verb.
American English
- The word is not used as a verb.
adverb
British English
- The word is not used as an adverb.
American English
- The word is not used as an adverb.
adjective
British English
- He is in the eleven-a-side team.
- She scored eleven goals.
American English
- He made the starting eleven.
- She has eleven points.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I have eleven pencils.
- My brother is eleven years old.
- The bus comes at eleven.
- Only eleven people attended the meeting.
- She finished the exam with eleven minutes to spare.
- Turn to page eleven, please.
- The committee was composed of eleven members from various departments.
- The experiment was repeated eleven times to ensure reliability.
- He was selected for the national eleven.
- The motion was carried by a narrow margin of eleven votes to nine.
- At the eleventh hour, a new donor emerged to save the project.
- The cricket eleven took to the field with determined expressions.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine two goalposts (11) on a football pitch, which needs eleven players per team.
Conceptual Metaphor
QUANTITY IS POSITION (on a linear scale); A GROUP IS A UNIFIED ENTITY (as in a sports team).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- No specific trap. Direct translation is 'одиннадцать'. Beware of stress placement in related ordinal numbers (одиннадцать vs одиннадцатый).
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect plural agreement: 'Eleven are...' is correct when referring to individual members (The eleven are ready). 'Eleven is...' is correct as a number (Eleven is a prime number). Confusing 'eleven' with 'eleventh'.
Practice
Quiz
What does 'the eleven' typically refer to in a British sports context?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Eleven' and 'twelve' derive from Old English 'endleofan' and 'twelf', meaning 'one left over (after ten)' and 'two left over', respectively. They are historical remnants predating the regular -teen pattern.
It can function as both a noun ('She is in the first eleven') and a determiner/adjective ('eleven cats'). Its primary role is as a cardinal number.
'Eleven' is a cardinal number (11). 'Eleventh' is an ordinal number (11th), denoting position in a sequence.
No, 'elevenses' is a chiefly British term for a mid-morning coffee/tea and snack break. Americans would typically say 'a morning coffee break' or 'a snack'.
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Numbers and Time
A1 · 50 words · Numbers, dates, days and expressions of time.