decade

noun

de·​cade ˈde-ˌkād 

de-ˈkād;

especially sense 1b ˈde-kəd

1

: a group or set of 10

It isn't to be done in a day of course, nor yet in a century, —nor in a decade of centuries …

—Anthony Trollope

: 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

Iran is facing its worst drought in decades, raising fears of evacuations in Tehran while threatening the regime’s stability and nuclear ambitions, according to a leading environmental expert. —Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 10 Nov. 2025

The chamber's 2024 Business Executive of the Year, Osmar Garcia, said the measures, if passed, will set the city on a good course for decades. —Arkansas Online, 10 Nov. 2025

And in this dangerous decade climate disasters have continued to intensify — from the massive hurricane that walloped Puerto Rico in 2017, to Jamaica this October where the most powerful Atlantic storm on record came aground. —John D. Sutter, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025

Unsurprisngly, Meg White, who retreated from public life and hasn’t been heard from for over a decade, was a no-show. —Devon Ivie, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025

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

Rhymes for decade

• afraid
• allayed
• arcade
• arrayed
• assayed
• barmaid
• betrayed
• blockade
• bridesmaid
• brigade
• brocade
• buffeted

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