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

The country aims to keep Tiangong, which is about 20% as massive as the International Space Station, permanently inhabited for at least a decade. —Andrew Jones, Space.com, 24 May 2026

For the past three decades, Wu has returned to the same street, for the same routine every night. —Catherine Phillips, CNN Money, 24 May 2026

For more than a decade, your electricity bill barely moved. —Iulia Lupse, Sun Sentinel, 24 May 2026

But decades of underfunding for public universities have increasingly put higher education out of reach for many, forcing tuition rates up while also leading to fewer support services for students most in need. —Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2026

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