eighty

noun

ˈā-tē 

plural eighties

1

: a number that is equal to eight times 10 see Table of Numbers

2

eighties plural : the numbers 80 to 89

specifically : the years 80 to 89 in a lifetime or century

eightieth

ˈā-tē-əth 

adjective or noun

eighty adjective

eighty pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of eighty in a Sentence

The temperature rose to the high eighties.

She is in her mid-eighties.

Recent Examples on the Web

So much theory of the eighties and nineties was this mode of interrogating which was ostensibly meant to liberate subsequent generations from either identifying or being identified in a certain way. —Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2024

There was also a show in the eighties focused around a Pyramid, with several monetary values in the title – one being the $100,000 Pyramid. —Andrew Rosen, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

Willetts is a tall, genial man, who worked for Margaret Thatcher’s policy unit in the eighties. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Most respondents said someone in their eighties could make for an effective president but would be less capable in other occupations. —Javier Zarracina, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024

In the late nineteen-seventies and early eighties, classical education reëmerged as a pushback against these trends. —Emma Green, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024

The eighties, particularly in New York City, are remembered for being an era of excess. —Jason Sheeler, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024

The gender gap in wages, which had stagnated in the eighties, was on its way up again. —Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 16 Feb. 2024

This particular technique, popular in the eighties and nineties as a visually impressive single-serving method for cooking proteins, also happens to result in a tender and very juicy roast bird—which happens to be near unphotographable. —Hazlitt, 14 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English eighty, adjective, from Old English eahtatig, short for hundeahtatig, noun, group of eighty, from hund-, literally, hundred + eahta eight + -tig group of ten; akin to Old English tīen ten

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing eighty

• eighty-six
• ten-eighty

Kids Definition

eighty

noun

ˈāt-ē 

plural eighties

: a number that is equal to eight times 10 see number

eightieth

-ē-əth 

adjective or noun

eighty adjective or pronoun