Ordinal numbers vs. Cardinal numbers

Ordinal numbers

/ˈɔːrdənəl ˈnʌmbərz/

Words that represent the position or order of items in a sequence.

Examples:

She finished the race in fourth place.The second chapter is my favorite in the book.Our office is located on the tenth floor.

Synonyms:

This word has no synonyms

Antonyms:

This word has no antonyms

Cardinal numbers

/ˈkɑːr.dɪ.nəl ˈnʌm.bɚz/

Basic numbers used to denote quantity, such as one, two, three

Examples:

She has three cats and two dogs at home.You will need seven eggs for this recipe.The building has twenty stories in total.

Synonyms:

integers

Antonyms:

ordinal numbers

Ways to tell them apart:

• Ordinal numbers indicate the position of something in a list; cardinal numbers indicate quantity.
• Think of order when you see ordinal—it's about position, not quantity.
• When counting items, use cardinal numbers like one, two, three.
• When ranking or sequencing items, use ordinal numbers like first, second, third.
• Ordinal numbers often have suffixes like -nd, -rd, -th, which can help to identify them.