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

Budapest – After nearly two decades in power, Hungary's far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán could be ousted from power in the country's parliamentary elections on Sunday. —Emmet Lyons, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026

Following its decades of shining in the spotlight, the hotel fell into neglect and disrepair until the 1980s when an architect was hired to restore it to its original glory; the hotel reopened in 1986 and became a member of Historic Hotels of America in 1991. —Susan B. Barnes, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2026

The money set aside to cover its share stands at almost three times the profit extracted from the UK auto finance unit over more than a decade, underscoring the severity of the capital drag. —Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 10 Apr. 2026

Littlefield will participate in a one-on-one conversation about his prolific career over the last four decades. —Emily Longeretta, Variety, 10 Apr. 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