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

Frank is in her early forties, comes from Kentucky, and has curly blonde hair and blue eyes (everyone at the W.B.F. wore a mask). —Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 5 May 2025

Rather than dreading her forties, Allyn is so excited to live with clarity and ease, without overthinking every decision. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Apr. 2025

The premise is simple: Doute and the Cartwright-Taylors have left West Hollywood and SUR behind for the Valley, in the hopes of living a more domestic life alongside a bunch of their friends in their thirties and forties—most of whom are married with kids. —Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2025

For instance, the math is pretty clear about the lesser value of pure exploration in your forties compared to your twenties. —Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 25 Mar. 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