A number that states how many of something. In "record 43 has 7 fields," the 7 is the cardinal number. Contrast with "ordinal number," which identifies a sequence such as "record 43." See cardinality.

Numbers can be used most flexibly to quantify, rank and identify. 'Cardinal' number refers to quantitative number assignments assessing set size (numerosity), whereas 'ordinal' number applies to ...