decade

noun

de·​cade ˈde-ˌkād 

de-ˈkād;

 especially sense 1b  ˈde-kəd

1

: a group or set of 10

his prisoners were divided into decades

—William Godwin

: 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

Example Sentences

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

To Pheelz, Afrobeats has grown into something his generation could only dream of a decade ago. —Nelson C.j., Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2023

An official gauge of manufacturing rose at the fastest pace in more than a decade in February, while export orders expanded for the first time in almost two years, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. —Heard Editors, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023

The ceremony also scored its highest share (54%) of 16-34-year-old viewers in more than a decade, confirming the big move to Saturday night had paid off. —Mark Sutherland, Variety, 1 Mar. 2023

The two-time Academy Award nominee had owned the property for more than a decade, purchasing the land in 2009 for $8.25 million, public records show. —Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 28 Feb. 2023

For more than a decade, Rhode Island’s congressional delegation was this slightly adorable brotherhood. —Globe Columnist, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Feb. 2023

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Davies has a doctorate in history from UC Berkeley, clerked for a federal judge in L.A., and practiced law for more than a decade before making the transition to television. —Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, 28 Feb. 2023

With its best conference record in more than a decade, USC (21-8, 11-7 Pac-12) is the No. 6 seed facing No. 11 Oregon State at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Michelob Ultra Arena. —Austin Knoblauchassistant Editor, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2023

For more than a decade, Russia and the U.S. reportedly have each sought to make digital incursions in the other's electric grid, planting probes that could disable power plants and trigger blackouts if a conflict escalated. —The Week Staff, The Week, 26 Feb. 2023

See More

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

• decade-long

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