four hundred
A2Neutral (both formal and informal contexts when referring to the number).
Definition
Meaning
The cardinal number 400, which is 100 multiplied by 4.
Used historically to refer to the social elite (e.g., 'the Four Hundred' in 1890s New York high society).
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily functions as a determiner or noun phrase. The historical social usage is archaic and context-specific.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage for the number. The social term 'the Four Hundred' originates from American history.
Connotations
The numerical term has no special connotations. The historical social term connotes exclusivity and old money.
Frequency
The numerical term is equally frequent. The historical social term is very rare in modern usage and more recognized in American cultural references.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[There be] + four hundred + [of + NOUN PHRASE] (e.g., There were four hundred of them).[VERB] + four hundred + [NOUN] (e.g., He sold four hundred tickets).Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “the Four Hundred (historical)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used in reports for quantities, costs, or headcounts (e.g., 'A budget of four hundred thousand was approved').
Academic
Used in statistical data, historical dates, or scientific measurements (e.g., 'The sample size was four hundred participants').
Everyday
Used for counting objects, people, or stating prices (e.g., 'The car cost four hundred pounds').
Technical
Used in fields like computing (e.g., 'HTTP status code 400'), engineering, or mathematics.
Examples
By Part of Speech
adjective
British English
- A four-hundred-year-old tradition is celebrated here.
American English
- A four-hundred-year-old tradition is celebrated here.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- My town has about four hundred people.
- This book has four hundred pages.
- The charity raised over four hundred pounds at the event.
- The castle was built nearly four hundred years ago.
- With a margin of error of five percent, the survey of four hundred respondents is statistically significant.
- The historical society dates the artifact to around four hundred AD.
- The merger created a conglomerate valued at roughly four hundred million euros.
- The seminal text, comprising four hundred dense pages, redefined the field.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of four centuries, as a century is 100 years, so four centuries equal 400 years.
Conceptual Metaphor
LARGE QUANTITY IS SIZE/WEIGHT (e.g., 'a weighty four hundred pages').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- In Russian, numbers require case agreement with the noun (четыреста + Genitive Plural), which is a key grammatical difference.
- Avoid directly translating word order from Russian for years, e.g., 'in the year four hundred' is incorrect; use 'in the year 400' or 'in 400 AD'.
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect pluralization: 'four hundreds people' (correct: 'four hundred people').
- Using 'of' incorrectly: 'four hundred of people' (correct: 'four hundred people' or 'four hundred of them').
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is the correct usage of 'four hundred'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Only when it is part of a compound adjective before a noun (e.g., 'a four-hundred-page book'). Otherwise, no hyphen is used.
It is grammatically plural and takes a plural verb (e.g., 'Four hundred people are attending').
As 'four hundred'. Note it is two separate words, not one.
It was a term for the supposed number of elite families in New York high society in the late 19th century, popularised by socialite Ward McAllister.
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