eighty

noun

ˈā-tē 

plural eighties

1

: a number that is equal to eight times 10 see Table of Numbers

2

eighties plural : the numbers 80 to 89

specifically : the years 80 to 89 in a lifetime or century

eightieth

ˈā-tē-əth 

adjective or noun

eighty adjective

eighty pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of eighty in a Sentence

The temperature rose to the high eighties.

She is in her mid-eighties.

Recent Examples on the Web

The town’s economic woes had provided a strong incentive for its residents to support opening a state prison there in 1986, and, by the end of New York’s prison-building boom of the eighties and nineties, Malone had three—more than any other town in the state. —Jennifer Gonnerman, New Yorker, 6 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

In the eighties, the number of climbers to complete all of the Colorado 14ers increased to 30-plus a year. —Outside, 25 Sep. 2025

In fact, one in five billionaires is already in their eighties and nineties, according to an analysis by Forbes. —Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English eighty, adjective, from Old English eahtatig, short for hundeahtatig, noun, group of eighty, from hund-, literally, hundred + eahta eight + -tig group of ten; akin to Old English tīen ten

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing eighty

• eighty-six
• ten-eighty

Rhymes for eighty

• kati
• katy
• platy
• slaty
• weighty

Kids Definition

eighty

noun

ˈāt-ē 

plural eighties

: a number that is equal to eight times 10 see number

eightieth

-ē-əth 

adjective or noun

eighty adjective or pronoun