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

Manchester City’s and Liverpool’s success over the past decade has been based on the acquisition of players moving towards or into their peak years and Arsenal have had a similar approach. —Oliver Kay, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026

The law eliminated two decades-old laws − the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) − that reduced Social Security benefits for a portion of retirees who received pension income. —Medora Lee, USA Today, 28 Feb. 2026

For decades, the Grimmer family never spoke about Cheryl. —Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026

But Republicans are worried that the popular but scandal-plagued Paxton could eventually win the primary, boosting Democrats’ chances of finally flipping the seat blue after decades of false hope. —Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 28 Feb. 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