Definition of forty
forties
1 : a number equal to four times 10 — see number table
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
forty
adjectiveforty
pronoun, plural in constructionFrom the M-W Editors
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
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The orderly holes still visible aboveground are air shafts, bored to release dust and provide oxygen to the workers who dug the qanats by hand, sometimes as far as forty miles.
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Since January, ICE has arrested forty-one thousand people, an increase of forty per cent compared with the equivalent period last year.
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Today, after a period of beta testing in London, the company is officially expanding into the famous West End theater district with tickets to more than forty West End shows at launch.
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Within this context, over forty organisations, networks and social movements from eight European countries will meet in the 600-seat Valle Theatre in Rome to organise a common front to construct an alternative European model.
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
First Known Use: before 12th century
Other Number-Related Terms
FORTY Defined for English Language Learners
forty
playDefinition of forty for English Language Learners
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: the number 40
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forties : the numbers ranging from 40 to 49
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: a set of years ending in digits ranging from 40 to 49
FORTY Defined for Kids
Learn More about forty
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See words that rhyme with forty Spanish Central: Translation of forty Nglish: Translation of forty for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of forty for Arabic speakers
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