forty

noun

for·​ty ˈfȯr-tē 

plural forties

1

: a number equal to four times 10 see Table of Numbers

2

forties plural : the numbers 40 to 49

specifically : the years 40 to 49 in a lifetime or century

3

: the third point scored by a side in a game of tennis

4

or 40 US, informal : a forty-ounce bottle or other container of an alcoholic beverage (such as beer or malt liquor)

Kelvin finished his forty in seven or eight long gulps. Tossed the bottle in the median carpeted with brown grass.

—Dave Byrne

… smoking weed and drinking 40s while her kids run loose.

—Jim Schutze

fortieth

ˈfȯr-tē-əth 

adjective or noun

forty adjective

forty pronoun, plural in construction

fortyish

ˈfȯr-tē-ish 

adjective

Examples of forty in a Sentence

The temperature outside is in the high forties.

She is in her forties.

Recent Examples on the Web

These ticks become active when temperatures reach the forties, so warm winters and early starts to spring mean there are more chances to get a tick bite. —Andrew Montequin, jsonline.com, 3 July 2025

He was sent to detention many times in the late thirties and early forties, at Mussolini’s request. —Thomas Meaney, New Yorker, 2 July 2025

My thirties and forties were filled, too, with passes and rejections (from magazine and newspaper editors, from book editors, from agents), and packed with creative false starts, and the hum of a slow burning identity crisis. —Jessica Berger Gross july 2, Literary Hub, 2 July 2025

Behind this breakthrough treatment stands Justine Masters; once a fashion stylist navigating the glamorous chaos of London's style scene, Masters hit an unexpected roadblock in her late forties. —Pooja Shah, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fourty, adjective, from Old English fēowertig, from fēowertig group of 40, from fēower four + -tig group of 10; akin to Old English tīen ten

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing forty

• forty-five
• forty-niner
• forty winks

Rhymes for forty

• corti
• rorty
• shorty
• sortie
• sporty
• warty
• pianoforte

Kids Definition

forty

noun

for·​ty ˈfȯrt-ē 

plural forties

: a number equal to four times 10 see number

fortieth

-ē-əth 

adjective or noun

forty adjective or pronoun

fortyish

-ē-ish 

adjective