seventy

noun

sev·​en·​ty ˈse-vən-tē 

ˈse-bᵊm-, 

-dē

plural seventies

1

: a number equal to seven times 10 see Table of Numbers

2

seventies plural : the numbers 70 to 79

specifically : the years 70 to 79 in a lifetime or century

3

Seventy : a Latter-day Saint elder ordained for missionary work under the apostles

seventieth

ˈse-vən-tē-əth 

ˈse-bᵊm-, 

-dē-

adjective or noun

seventy adjective

seventy pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of seventy in a Sentence

She is in her seventies.

Recent Examples on the Web

This was in the mid-nineteen-seventies, and my high school—then called the High School for Performing Arts—was on West Forty-sixth Street. —Hilton Als, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025

In 2010, the New York Times reported that the story was invented by PR professionals in the early seventies. —Martin Fritz Huber, Outside, 6 Nov. 2025

This iconic lounge and dance club in the Buckhead area of Atlanta sees a bustling crowd of patrons of all ages, from twenty-somethings to seasoned regulars in their sixties and seventies. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2025

There is, Worthington says, a certain image of the old-school scout: a guy in his seventies with a notebook under his arm — or in some cases with everything in his head, claiming to have forgotten more than the younger guys on the beat will ever know. —Oliver Kay, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

seventy, adjective, from Middle English, from Old English seofontig, short for hundseofontig, from hundseofontig, noun, group of seventy, from hund hundred + seofon seven + -tig group of ten; akin to Old English tīen ten

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing seventy

• seventy-eight

Kids Definition

seventy

noun

sev·​en·​ty ˈsev-ən-tē 

plural seventies

: a number equal to seven times 10 see number

seventieth

-tē-əth 

adjective or noun

seventy adjective or pronoun