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

capitalized : a Mormon 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

Couples in their thirties, with or without a baby; couples in their seventies, retired. —Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025

Part of the environmental movement in the seventies and eighties was that these water bodies, Santa Monica Bay was too polluted to swim in. —Outside Online, 1 Oct. 2025

That wasn’t the case in the early seventies. —Outside, 25 Sep. 2025

Add longer lifespans, the need for many to keep working well into their seventies, and the sobering thought of spending 30 or 40 years doing the exact same thing every day, and the case for lifelong learning becomes not just compelling, but critical. —Joseph Coughlin, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 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