forty-five

noun

for·​ty-five ˌfȯr-tē-ˈfīv 

1

: a number that is five more than 40 see Table of Numbers

2

: a .45 caliber handgun

—usually written .45

3

: a phonograph record designed to be played at 45 revolutions per minute

—usually written 45

forty-five adjective

forty-five pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of forty-five in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Also, didn’t Trump just pardon Juan Orlando Hernández, the former Honduran President, who had been sentenced to forty-five years in federal prison for conspiring to import four hundred tons of cocaine into the United States? —Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2026

Her mother started driving in from Hutto—about forty-five minutes away—every day. —Lauren Hilgers, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025

One hundred forty-five years later, watching privileged men scream and rant while hoarding power, opportunities and food over others feels like the United States has remained stagnant. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 6 Nov. 2025

Sander envisioned some five hundred to six hundred photographs, divided into more than forty-five portfolios of twelve photographs each, organized in seven overarching groups. —Noam M. Elcott, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for forty-five

• overdrive
• alive
• archive
• arrive
• beehive
• connive
• contrive
• deprive
• derive
• revive
• survive
• dive

Kids Definition

forty-five

noun

for·​ty-five

ˌfȯrt-ē-ˈfīv

: a .45 caliber pistol

—usually written .45