Should we say "item number" or "items number" when refering to "number of items"?

Question

Let's consider a table with multiple specified containers. Each of those containers has multiple items inside. We'd like to have that table to look like:

|Container_A | 7 |

Where the "7" answers the question: "how many items are in the container?".

Should I use "Item Number" as the table header or "Items Number"? Or perhaps both are incorrect and I should use "Number of items"?

"Number of items" is correct; the other suggestions are wrong. If you are short of space, you can write "No. of items". — TonyK, Jul 06 '22 at 11:55
A heading 'Items' with a column of numbers underneath is clear, if you have limited width. — Weather Vane, Jul 06 '22 at 12:02
This is not a duplicate of Files list or file list?, but that question is informative, because it — and its duplicates — explain how "Item number" and "Items number" are both wrong. — Andrew Leach, Jul 06 '22 at 12:19
This will probably boil down to opinion. In spite of counterarguments, 'items number' seems quite common (though I'd certainly choose 'number of items' myself). — Edwin Ashworth, Jul 06 '22 at 18:32

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 06 '22 at 13:39

In common usage, "Item Number" refers to an identifier assigned to a particular product so that it can be uniquely identified. For instance, the computer mouse I am using is item number "X08-70400", which you can look up online to see exactly what it looks like and to order an identical replacement.

"Items number" is incorrect because it appears to be a compound or attributive noun, which is almost always constructed with the first noun in the singular. (See When are attributive nouns plural? , Item queue vs items queue? Files list vs File list? , and linked questions from there for more info.)

"Number of Items" is reasonable and acceptable, as would be "Item count" (as suggested in a comment). In "Item count", "Item" is again an attributive noun (and is therefore singular). "Count" does not have a special meaning in combination with "item" the way "item number" does, so "item count" refers to an amount or quantity.

"Quantity" would also be a valid header for the field.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 17 '22 at 11:47

If you want to avoid the usage of "of" (e.g. in naming a variable when programming), you should use the word "count".

Elaborating on the IT context, I can remark, that in "Code Complete," Steve McConnell notes that "Number" is ambiguous, as it could be a count, or an index, or some other number.

"But, because using Number so often creates confusion, it's probably best to sidestep the whole issue by using Count to refer to a total number of sales and Index to refer to a specific sale."

Thus it is prefered to avoid using the word "number" at all.

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Jul 06 '22 at 13:38

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Number of items is the correct usage.

Item number indicates the (generally identification) number of an item. For example, item number 5 is a pen.

Items number just doesn't make any sense grammatically.

edited Jul 06 '22 at 13:38

KillingTime

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answered Jul 06 '22 at 13:37

Drishti

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Should we say "item number" or "items number" when refering to "number of items"?

3 Answers3