The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Number \Num"ber\ (n[u^]m"b[~e]r), n. [OE. nombre, F. nombre, L.
   numerus; akin to Gr. no`mos that which is dealt out, fr.
   ne`mein to deal out, distribute. See Numb, Nomad, and cf.
   Numerate, Numero, Numerous.]
   1. That which admits of being counted or reckoned; a unit, or
      an aggregate of units; a numerable aggregate or collection
      of individuals; an assemblage made up of distinct things
      expressible by figures.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A collection of many individuals; a numerous assemblage; a
      multitude; many.
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            Ladies are always of great use to the party they
            espouse, and never fail to win over numbers.
                                                  --Addison.
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   3. A numeral; a word or character denoting a number; as, to
      put a number on a door.
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   4. Numerousness; multitude.
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            Number itself importeth not much in armies where the
            people are of weak courage.           --Bacon.
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   5. The state or quality of being numerable or countable.
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            Of whom came nations, tribes, people, and kindreds
            out of number.                        --2 Esdras
                                                  iii. 7.
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   6. Quantity, regarded as made up of an aggregate of separate
      things.
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   7. That which is regulated by count; poetic measure, as
      divisions of time or number of syllables; hence, poetry,
      verse; -- chiefly used in the plural.
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            I lisped in numbers, for the numbers came. --Pope.
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   8. (Gram.) The distinction of objects, as one, or more than
      one (in some languages, as one, or two, or more than two),
      expressed (usually) by a difference in the form of a word;
      thus, the singular number and the plural number are the
      names of the forms of a word indicating the objects
      denoted or referred to by the word as one, or as more than
      one.
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   9. (Math.) The measure of the relation between quantities or
      things of the same kind; that abstract species of quantity
      which is capable of being expressed by figures; numerical
      value.
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   Abstract number, Abundant number, Cardinal number, etc.
      See under Abstract, Abundant, etc.

   In numbers, in numbered parts; as, a book published in
      numbers.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Number \Num"ber\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Numbered
   (n[u^]m"b[~e]rd); p. pr & vb. n. Numbering.] [OE. nombren,
   noumbren, F. nombrer, fr. L. numerare, numeratum. See
   Number, n.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. To count; to reckon; to ascertain the units of; to
      enumerate.
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            If a man can number the dust of the earth, then
            shall thy seed also be numbered.      --Gen. xiii.
                                                  16.
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   2. To reckon as one of a collection or multitude.
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            He was numbered with the transgressors. --Is. liii.
                                                  12.
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   3. To give or apply a number or numbers to; to assign the
      place of in a series by order of number; to designate the
      place of by a number or numeral; as, to number the houses
      in a street, or the apartments in a building.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. To amount; to equal in number; to contain; to consist of;
      as, the army numbers fifty thousand.
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            Thy tears can not number the dead.    --Campbell.
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   Numbering machine, a machine for printing consecutive
      numbers, as on railway tickets, bank bills, etc.
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   Syn: To count; enumerate; calculate; tell.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

number
    n 1: the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite
         quantity of units or individuals; "he had a number of
         chores to do"; "the number of parameters is small"; "the
         figure was about a thousand" [syn: number, figure]
    2: a concept of quantity involving zero and units; "every number
       has a unique position in the sequence"
    3: a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer
       program; "he did his act three times every evening"; "she had
       a catchy little routine"; "it was one of the best numbers he
       ever did" [syn: act, routine, number, turn, bit]
    4: the number is used in calling a particular telephone; "he has
       an unlisted number" [syn: phone number, telephone number,
       number]
    5: a symbol used to represent a number; "he learned to write the
       numerals before he went to school" [syn: numeral, number]
    6: one of a series published periodically; "she found an old
       issue of the magazine in her dentist's waiting room" [syn:
       issue, number]
    7: a select company of people; "I hope to become one of their
       number before I die"
    8: a numeral or string of numerals that is used for
       identification; "she refused to give them her Social Security
       number" [syn: number, identification number]
    9: a clothing measurement; "a number 13 shoe"
    10: the grammatical category for the forms of nouns and pronouns
        and verbs that are used depending on the number of entities
        involved (singular or dual or plural); "in English the
        subject and the verb must agree in number"
    11: an item of merchandise offered for sale; "she preferred the
        black nylon number"; "this sweater is an all-wool number"
    v 1: add up in number or quantity; "The bills amounted to
         $2,000"; "The bill came to $2,000" [syn: total, number,
         add up, come, amount]
    2: give numbers to; "You should number the pages of the thesis"
    3: enumerate; "We must number the names of the great
       mathematicians" [syn: number, list]
    4: put into a group; "The academy counts several Nobel Prize
       winners among its members" [syn: count, number]
    5: determine the number or amount of; "Can you count the books
       on your shelf?"; "Count your change" [syn: count, number,
       enumerate, numerate]
    6: place a limit on the number of [syn: number, keep down]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

301 Moby Thesaurus words for "number":
   G, M, a certain number, a few, a number, account, act, add up,
   add up to, afterpiece, aggregate, aggregate to, amount, amount to,
   apportion, army, art, article, back matter, back number, batch,
   beat, bevy, billion, bit, block out, blood, book, box score, brand,
   breed, budget, bunch, business, calculate, call off, call over,
   call the roll, calling, career, career building, careerism, cast,
   census, chapter, character, chaser, chiliad, chiliagon,
   chiliahedron, chiliarch, chiliarchia, chunk, cipher, clan, clause,
   clutch, collection, color, come, come to, company, comprise,
   compute, contain, copy, count, covey, craft, crowd, curtain,
   curtain call, curtain raiser, deal, decrease, denomination,
   description, designation, detail, difference, digit, divertimento,
   divertissement, divide, dose, dual, edition, enumerate, epilogue,
   exode, exodus, expository scene, fascicle, feather, few, figure,
   figure up, finale, fix, foliate, folio, form, front matter, game,
   gang, gathering, genre, genus, gob, grain, grand, group, handful,
   handicraft, heap, hoke act, horde, host, hundred, hunk, ilk,
   impression, include, increase, integer, interlude, intermezzo,
   intermission, introduction, issue, itemize, kidney, kilo,
   kilocycle, kilogram, kilohertz, kiloliter, kilometer, kin, kind,
   label, lakh, large amount, legions, library, library edition,
   lifework, lilt, line, line of business, line of work, loads, lot,
   make, manner, many, mark, mass, measure, mess, meter, metier,
   metrics, millennium, millepede, milligram, milliliter, million,
   mission, mob, mold, mount up to, movement, multitude, myriad,
   mystery, nature, numbers, numeral, numerate, occupation,
   one hundred thousand, one or two, outline, pack, page, paginate,
   paragraph, parcel, parse, part, party, passage, passel, persuasion,
   phrase, phylum, platoon, plural, poll, portion, practice, printing,
   product, profession, prologue, prosody, pursuit, quantify,
   quantity, quantize, race, racket, rate, ration, reckon,
   reckon up to, reckoning, reduce, resolve, rhythm, rhythmic pattern,
   routine, run into, run over, run to, scan, scene, schematize,
   school edition, score, section, sentence, series, set, several,
   shape, sheet, shtick, signature, singular, sketch, skit, slew,
   slews, small amount, song and dance, sort, specialization,
   specialty, species, stamp, stand-up comedy act, strain, stripe,
   striptease, style, sum, sum up, summation, swarm, swing, tale,
   tally, tell, ten thousand, text, the bottom line, the like of,
   the likes of, the story, the whole story, thou, thousand, tons,
   tot up, tot up to, total, tote up to, trade, trade book,
   trade edition, trial, tribe, troop, turn, two or three, type,
   umpteen, unitize, variety, verse, vocation, volume, walk,
   walk of life, whole, whole number, work, x number, yard



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

NUMBER. A collection of units.
     2. In pleading, numbers must be stated truly, when alleged in the
recital of a record, written instrument, or express contract. Lawes' PI. 48;
4 T. R. 314; Cro. Car. 262; Dougl. 669; 2 Bl. Rep. 1104. But in other cases,
it is not in general requisite that they should be truly stated, because
they are not required to be strictly proved. If, for example, in an action
of trespass the plaintiff proves the wrongful taking away of any part of the
goods duly described in his declaration, he is entitled to recover pro
tanto. Bac. Ab. Trespass, I 2 Lawes' PI. 48.
     3. And sometimes, when the subject to be described is supposed to
comprehend a multiplicity of particulars, a general description is
sufficient. A declaration in trover alleging the conversion of "a library of
books"' without stating their number, titles, or quality, was held 'to be
sufficiently certain; 3 Bulst. 31; Carth. 110; Bac. Ab. Trover, F 1; and in
an action for the loss of goods, by burning the plaintiff's house, the
articles may be described by the simple denomination of "goods" or "divers
goods." 1 Keb. 825; Plowd. 85, 118, 123; Cro. Eliz. 837; 1 H. Bl. 284.