lowest number vs smallest number

Both 'lowest number' and 'smallest number' are correct and commonly used phrases in English. They can be used interchangeably to refer to the number that is the least in value. The choice between the two depends on personal preference or the specific context in which they are used.

Last updated: March 25, 2024 • 10965 views

lowest number

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to refer to the number that is the least in value.

It is used to describe the number that is at the bottom end of a range of numbers or values.

Examples:

Find the lowest number in the sequence.
The lowest number on the list is 5.

Show examples from the web [+]

It was the lowest number I could get.
It was the lowest number I could get.
The lowest number of civilian fire deaths.
This is the group, among the many with which I work, from which I receive the lowest number of individual complaints.
Open the valves starting from the lowest number,
Whoever had the lowest number got their way.
In 2009 the lowest number of counterparties (109) to participate in an MRO was recorded in the operation that was settled on 23 December, and the lowest MRO volume (Euros 46 billion) was allotted in the operation that was settled on 4 November.
Until now, nuclear energy has been the safest form of energy, statistically speaking, with the lowest number of accident victims, compared to other energy sources (for example, gas and oil).
What I mean to point out is that it is a fact, an objective fact, that Great Britain, with a limit of 0.8, is the country with the second lowest number of accidents in the Union.
The lowest number of combatant casualties occurred in 2003, with just 20,000 killed.
The figures for Italy are of particular concern, with the country holding the dual record of the lowest number of under-14s and the highest number of over-65s.
Likewise, the Commission will only consider the lowest number of jobs.
The United Kingdom has a clear record of the lowest number of spoilt ballot papers when people go to vote.
If Great Britain had a limit of 0.2 instead of 0.8 it would probably be the country with the lowest number rather than the second lowest and would have far fewer accidents.
Specifying only a minimum stock on the basis of the number of supply days for all product categories of specific stocks means that the product with the lowest number of supply days would constitute the irrevocably fixed upper limit for all products.
10 % of the lowest number of shareholders in the period from 10 October 2008 until 8 December 2011 multiplied by the average share of capital per shareholder of the same year minus the total amount of fees already paid.
In that case the number of days at sea spent by the vessel during that trip shall be counted for as fishing with the gear and special condition for which the lowest number of days apply in accordance with Table I.
The worldwide fall in applications for new medicines made 2002 an unusual year in the history of the Agency, with the lowest number of new applications since the EMEA began its work in 1995.

Alternatives:

smallest number
minimum number
least number
bottom number
number with the lowest value

smallest number

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to refer to the number that is the least in value.

It is used to describe the number that is at the minimum end of a range of numbers or values.