A town in East Lothian council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT6778).
Used in a Sentence
dunbar
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for dunbar.
Editorial note
Forums break down after they the number of users passes the Dunbar Number.
Examples19
Definitions4
Parts of speech1
Quick take
A town in East Lothian council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT6778).
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of dunbar gathered in one view.
A number of places in the United States:
A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for dunbar.
noun
A town in East Lothian council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT6778).
noun
A number of places in the United States:
noun
A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.
noun
An unincorporated community in Houston County, Georgia.
Example sentences
Forums break down after they the number of users passes the Dunbar Number.
You are right that it isn't exactly the Dunbar number.
We've passed the Dunbar Number of employees and it's hard that I don't have a personal relationship with everyone on the team.
Reminds me of Dunbar in Joseph Heller's Catch-22: "Do you know how long a year takes when it's going away?" Dunbar asked Clevinger.
It really is a problem of defining what, exactly, Dunbar's number means for humans.
How the hell else are you ever going to slow time down?" Dunbar was almost angry when he finished.
Humans can only empathize with those people who exist within their "monkeysphere" (Dunbar's Number).
Specifically, Dunbar's Number, which is only theoretical but is generally accepted to be around 150 (presumably +/- 149).
So, what this means in the context of humans is that Dunbar's number is very much dependent on the closeness of the relationships you're dealing with.
This often (mis-)cited number is but one example of Dunbar's ingenious, math-driven approach to many problems in biology and evolution.
The discussion of Dunbar's Number (as well as WL Gore, for that matter) in The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is very interesting.
If you assume that you want your people to work while they're at the office then Dunbar's probably goes down quite a bit.
Quote examples
Reminds me of Dunbar in Joseph Heller's Catch-22: "Do you know how long a year takes when it's going away?" Dunbar asked Clevinger.
How the hell else are you ever going to slow time down?" Dunbar was almost angry when he finished.
Humans can only empathize with those people who exist within their "monkeysphere" (Dunbar's Number).
Are those people included in their "Dunbar group"?
Proper noun examples
It really is a problem of defining what, exactly, Dunbar's number means for humans.
Specifically, Dunbar's Number, which is only theoretical but is generally accepted to be around 150 (presumably +/- 149).
So, what this means in the context of humans is that Dunbar's number is very much dependent on the closeness of the relationships you're dealing with.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use dunbar in a sentence?
Forums break down after they the number of users passes the Dunbar Number.
What does dunbar mean?
A town in East Lothian council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT6778).
What part of speech is dunbar?
dunbar is commonly used as noun.