Meanings
- informaloften slightly derogatoryRelatively large but unspecified in number.First known use 1907
She's taking umpteen friends with her to the party.
4 more examples
We still claim a population of over 300,000 based on the new city directory, and that chief of the census who threw out umpteen thousand names on us this spring can’t put his name on our slipboard any more.
1911, O.E. Shannon, edited by J.W. Hays, The Typographical Journal, volume XXXVVIII, number 4, page 439Make sure your music software is stand-alone, too (ie, it doesn’t have to be loaded into a utility—we don’t want to have to mess around with bits of wire or umpteen different programs just to hear your maestropiece).
1986 July, “Become a famous composer and appear in ZZAP!”, in Roger Kean, editor, ZZAP! 64, number 15, Ludlow, Shropshire: Newsfield, →OCLC, page 89, column 4Does it continue to make sense to have umpteen definitions of the practice of law, umpteen UPL prohibitions, umpteen UPL investigation and prosecution procedures, and umpteen UPL sanctions? The current crazy quilt of regulation in this area makes it difficult for anyone to know (including lawyers) what is and is not permitted in a particular jurisdiction.
2001, American Bar Association, Symposium Issue of The Professional LawyerHe tries, "The few, the proud, the umpteen," and Shane says, "Umpteen? Pray tell me, good sir, who is this umpteen of which you speak?" and Joseph says, "Umpteen Dumpteen sat on a wall," and they both break up laughing. "It's like a bunch, isn't it? 'Umpteen'?" This from Sean Lanham, whose small round skull has inspired Coach Dale to name him Peahead.
2014, Kevin Brockmeier, A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip: A Memoir of Seventh Grade
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveinnumerable but many
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From ump (“a colloquial name for the dash "—" in Morse code”) + -teen. Unrelated to ump as in umpire, and simply a mnemonic rhyming aid.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian безброй
- безброй (bezbroj)Relatively large but unspecified in number
Czech spousty, moře
- spoustyRelatively large but unspecified in number
- mořeRelatively large but unspecified in number
- haldaRelatively large but unspecified in number
- hromadaRelatively large but unspecified in number
- fůraRelatively large but unspecified in number
- hafoRelatively large but unspecified in number
- spoustaRelatively large but unspecified in number
Dutch tig
- tigRelatively large but unspecified in number
Esperanto multnombra
- multnombraRelatively large but unspecified in number
Finnish toistakymmentä
- toistakymmentäRelatively large but unspecified in number
French trente-six, trente-six mille
- trente-sixRelatively large but unspecified in number
- trente-six milleRelatively large but unspecified in number
- trente-six-milleRelatively large but unspecified in number
German zig
- zigRelatively large but unspecified in number
Hungarian kismillió, egy rakás
- kismillióRelatively large but unspecified in number
- egy rakásRelatively large but unspecified in number
- csillióRelatively large but unspecified in number
Māori tuauriuri
- tuauriuriRelatively large but unspecified in number
Norwegian ørten
- ørtenRelatively large but unspecified in number
Portuguese um bocado de, um monte de
- um bocado deRelatively large but unspecified in number
- um monte deRelatively large but unspecified in number
- inúmerosRelatively large but unspecified in number
Romanian enșpe
- enșpeRelatively large but unspecified in number
Russian надцать, бесчисленно
- надцать (nadcatʹ)Relatively large but unspecified in number
- бесчисленно (besčislenno)Relatively large but unspecified in number
Spanish una multitud de, un montón de
- una multitud deRelatively large but unspecified in number
- un montón deRelatively large but unspecified in number
- tropecientosRelatively large but unspecified in number
Swedish femtioelva
- femtioelvaRelatively large but unspecified in number
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with umpteen
Cite this entry
umpteen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umpteen
“umpteen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umpteen. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “umpteen,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umpteen.
Source: umpteen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.