forty

noun for·ty \ ˈfȯr-tē \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Examples: forty in a Sentence

Definition of forty

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

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fortieth

play \ˈfȯr-tē-əth\ adjective or noun

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forty

adjective

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forty

pronoun, plural in construction

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fortyish

play \ˈfȯr-tē-ish\ adjective

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Examples of forty in a Sentence

The temperature outside is in the high forties.
She is in her forties.

Recent Examples of forty from the Web

Tales for the three in the 1930’s and the four in the forties, golden ages both.

— tim layden, SI.com, "It's Instinctive to Compare Justify's Triple Crown to American Pharoah's but Both Share Connection to Greatness," 10 June 2018
It’s hard to imagine such a scheme working, unless Trump establishes a political command over the private sector not seen in America since the forties.

— caleb crain, The New Yorker, "Is Capitalism a Threat to Democracy?," 7 May 2018
Fire personnel pronounced the victim, initially identified as a female in her mid-forties, dead on scene.

— jordan cutler-tietjen, sacbee, "Woman shot, killed in apparent South Sacramento homicide," 8 July 2018
Staff at Bugworks recount stories of friends in their forties dying in hospital from pneumonia, or from a urinary tract infection that lasts months as one antibiotic after another fails to work.

— ari altstedter, Bloomberg.com, "The Startups Waging War Against Superbugs," 25 June 2018
And can the average amateur athlete learn anything from them to continue competing into her forties and beyond?

— graham averill, Outside Online, "The Secret to Athletic Longevity Is Surprisingly Simple," 17 May 2018
Mary returned to her scholarly pursuits in her forties and achieved her master's degree in library sciences from the University of Rhode Island.

— courant.com, "Mary E. Thatcher," 26 May 2018
Say, a married couple in their forties with two teenage kids.

— norman vanamee, Town & Country, "Here's Exactly How Much Money You Need To Be Happy," 16 Nov. 2017
The upshot is that around 40% of Japanese women who undergo IVF do so in their forties, twice as many as in Britain or France.

— The Economist, "No country resorts to IVF more than Japan—or has less success," 24 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'forty.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of forty

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year