What is the difference between amount and number?

Amount is for uncountable mass nouns and answers 'how much?' (the amount of water). Number is for separate countable things and answers 'how many?' (the number of bottles).

Is it 'amount of people' or 'number of people'?

Number of people. People are countable, so they take number; 'amount of people' is a common error. Use amount only with uncountable mass nouns.

When do you use amount?

With uncountable (mass) nouns — amount of water, time, money, work, information — and alongside much and less: 'a small amount of money'.

When do you use number?

With plural countable nouns — number of books, errors, students, reasons — and alongside many and fewer: 'a large number of reasons'.

How is this related to less vs fewer?

It is the same rule. Less and amount go with uncountable mass (less water, the amount of water); fewer and number go with countable things (fewer books, the number of books).

What does 'a number of' mean?

It means 'several' and takes a plural verb: 'a number of issues were raised' (not 'was raised'). It is a useful way to hedge how many in academic writing.

amountvsnumber

Amount is how much there is of an uncountable mass (the amount of water); number is how many there are of separate, countable things (the number of bottles). Use amount with mass nouns and 'less', number with plural countable nouns and 'fewer'.

amount

From the spoon a fine stream of loose sugar pours without a break and a single smooth mound grows on the saucer — no grain tells from the next, so there is nothing to count, only more or less of the heap to measure.

/əˈmaʊnt//əˈmaʊnt/·noun (also verb)

number

From the same spoon, sugar cubes tip out one at a time and settle a little apart — each one distinct, so you point and tally them into a pile, one, two, three … twelve; not how much, but how many.

/ˈnʌmbər//ˈnʌmbə/·noun

These two both seem to answer 'how much stuff?', which is why they get swapped — but they sort the world differently. Amount measures a single uncountable mass: water, sand, time, money. Number counts separate units you could tally one by one: people, errors, coins. The quick test: if you can make it plural and count it, it takes number; if it only comes as a mass, it takes amount. The very same split decides less vs fewer.

What each means

amount

An amount is how much there is of something you measure rather than count — a mass or quantity treated as a single whole: the amount of water, sand, time, or money. Because the thing is uncountable, you weigh or gauge it instead of tallying separate units, and it pairs with 'much' and 'less' (a large amount, a small amount). It comes from Old French amonter, 'to mount up'. Set it against number, which is for separate, countable things. As a verb, to amount to is to add up to a total or be equivalent to.

number

A number is how many there are of separate things you can count one by one — people, errors, marbles, days. Each unit is distinct, so you tally them rather than weigh or measure them, and the result is exact: three, forty, a thousand. It goes with 'many' and 'fewer' (a large number, a small number). From Latin numerus. Set it against amount, which is for a single uncountable mass. To say 'a number of' is a quiet way to say 'several' without fixing exactly how many.

At a glance

	amount	number
Meaning	how much of an uncountable mass	how many separate countable things
Use with	mass / uncountable nouns	plural countable nouns
Pairs with	much, less, a little	many, fewer, several
Operation	measured (weighed or gauged)	counted (tallied one by one)
Example	the amount of water	the number of bottles
Common trap	amount of people ✗	number of people ✓

How to remember the difference

Ask whether you could count the thing one by one. Water, sand, time, money, work — you cannot tally them, so they take amount (and much/less): 'a large amount of work'. Bottles, people, errors, days — you can count them, so they take number (and many/fewer): 'a large number of errors'. Picture the sugar both ways: pour it loose and a smooth mound just grows, asking how much → amount; drop it as cubes that land one by one, asking how many → number. The same rule sorts less (mass) from fewer (count).

Examples

amount

A vast amount of data is generated every second.
We wasted a fair amount of time looking for parking.
The amount of sugar in the recipe can be reduced by half.

number

A record number of applicants sat the exam this year.
The number of errors dropped sharply after the redesign.
Only a small number of seats remain.

If the noun is uncountable (water, advice, information), use amount; if it is a plural you can count (bottles, people, ideas), use number. The same logic separates less (amount) from fewer (number): 'less water', 'fewer bottles'. Money is uncountable (the amount of money), but coins are countable (the number of coins).

FAQ

What is the difference between amount and number?: Amount is for uncountable mass nouns and answers 'how much?' (the amount of water). Number is for separate countable things and answers 'how many?' (the number of bottles).
Is it 'amount of people' or 'number of people'?: Number of people. People are countable, so they take number; 'amount of people' is a common error. Use amount only with uncountable mass nouns.
When do you use amount?: With uncountable (mass) nouns — amount of water, time, money, work, information — and alongside much and less: 'a small amount of money'.
When do you use number?: With plural countable nouns — number of books, errors, students, reasons — and alongside many and fewer: 'a large number of reasons'.
How is this related to less vs fewer?: It is the same rule. Less and amount go with uncountable mass (less water, the amount of water); fewer and number go with countable things (fewer books, the number of books).
What does 'a number of' mean?: It means 'several' and takes a plural verb: 'a number of issues were raised' (not 'was raised'). It is a useful way to hedge how many in academic writing.

Related confusing words

amount — full entry number — full entry ← All confusing words