<p>For example: <code>man(1)</code>, <code>find(3)</code>, <code>updatedb(2)</code>? </p>

<p>What do the numbers in parentheses (Brit. "brackets") mean?</p>

The section the command is documented in the manual. The list of sections is documented on man's manual. For example:
```
```
man 1 man
man 3 find
```
```
This is useful for when similar or exactly equal commands exist on different sections