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 time is the present day, though, perhaps owing to its isolation from the mainland, the island seems to have stalled permanently in the nineteen-eighties. — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 18 June 2026

Eighteen months later the best agents score in the high eighties on the same test, a pace of improvement that has convinced many investors that software engineering is a solved market. — Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 10 June 2026

In comparison, Prince, the rule-breaking, musical genius whose synthy, genre-blurring Minneapolis Sound became the audio heartbeat of the eighties, amassed 150 million in global units sold, headlined by his 1984 Oscar-winning statement Purple Rain. — Keith Murphy, VIBE.com, 7 June 2026

There’s so much that has been occluded by the broad-brush depiction of the eighties as the awful age of Reagan, yuppies, shoulder pads, mullets, and synth-drums. — Literary Hub, 1 June 2026

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