decade

noun

de·​cade ˈde-ˌkād 

de-ˈkād;

 especially sense 1b  ˈde-kəd

1

: a group or set of 10

his prisoners were divided into decades

—William Godwin

: such as

a

: a period of 10 years

has been teaching for over a decade

the decade of the twenties

b

Roman Catholicism : a division of the rosary that consists primarily of 10 Hail Marys

2

mathematics : a ratio of 10 to 1 : order of magnitude

decadal

ˈde-kə-dᵊl 

adjective

Examples of decade in a Sentence

The war lasted nearly a decade.

The bridge was built a decade ago.

The decade of the 1920s runs from January 1, 1920 to December 31, 1929.

the first decade of the 21st century

There have been a lot of changes during the past two decades.

Recent Examples on the Web

Towards the end of the last decade, Latin music went global thanks to the reggaeton explosion—and to adapt with the times, Reik seamlessly blended their romantic sound with the Caribbean rhythm. —Lucas Villa, SPIN, 10 June 2024

Over the ensuing decades, as the right’s issues became the party’s, so did its operatives, activists, and political approach. —Daniel Schlozman & Sam Rosenfeld / Made By History, TIME, 10 June 2024

See The Connectors In an industry shaped over the decades by bombastic and hard-charging men, Drescher embraced her idiosyncratic and unabashedly female style. —Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2024

Over the last three decades, the number of US homes destroyed by wildfire has more than doubled as fires burn bigger and badder, a recent study found. —Eric Zerkel, CNN, 9 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French décade, from Late Latin decad-, decas, from Greek dekad-, dekas, from deka — see deca-

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing decade

• decade-long

Kids Definition

decade

noun

de·​cade ˈdek-ˌād 

-əd;

de-ˈkād;

 sense 3 is usually  ˈdek-əd

1

: a group or set of 10

2

: a period of 10 years

3

: a part of the rosary made up mainly of 10 Hail Marys