Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive to judge (the number of objects in a group) rapidly, accurately and confidently without counting them
  • verb intransitive to have the ability of judging the number of objects in a group in this way

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin subitus ("sudden; unexpected") from the feeling of immediately knowing the number of items present.

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Examples

  • Specifically, people and animals subitize, or perceive and estimate the number of objects by glance.

    FOXNews.com 2011

Comments

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  • To tell the number of items in a collection without counting them one by one. An ability of some idiot savants. Found the word in a book called "The number sense"

    September 21, 2009

  • Take a subitizing test.

    May 12, 2011