decade

noun

de·​cade ˈde-ˌkād How to pronounce decade (audio)
de-ˈkād;
 especially sense 1b  ˈde-kəd
1
: a group or set of 10
his prisoners were divided into decadesWilliam 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 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 He’s been at it for several decades now—his NoHo Hospitality Group operates more than a dozen restaurants—and Café Carmellini, the first restaurant to bear his name, feels pretty straightforwardly like a legacy play. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2024 With the newest funding approved by Congress, the project now has more than 90% of its financing lined up, Brown said, a major hurdle that has killed dozens of other large water storage projects around the state in recent decades. Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024 In the decades since their nuptials, the couple welcomed their daughters — Cydney, Caley and Emily — and Jayni became stepmom to Chevy's son, Bryan Perkins, from a previous relationship. Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 17 Mar. 2024 Dungeons & Dragons has been a tabletop classic for five decades. Eva Rothenberg, CNN, 17 Mar. 2024 Romero said Biden has a list of accomplishments that her constituents will feel the benefits of for decades. Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2024 Those small donations at the cash register raised $749 million in 2022—double the amount raised a decade earlier. Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 17 Mar. 2024 Of course, the legacies built by the aforementioned trio didn’t come without decades of hard work. Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024 They’re designed to be used by local residents for decades to come and, the leaders of the Paris 2024 organizing committee say, revitalize the city’s suburbs. Catherine Porter, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decade.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of decade was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near decade

Cite this Entry

“Decade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decade. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

decade

noun
de·​cade ˈdek-ˌād How to pronounce decade (audio)
-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

More from Merriam-Webster on decade

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