fourth

noun

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\ ˈfȯrth

plural fourths\ ˈfȯr(th)s

Definition of fourth

1 : one that is number four in a series — see Table of Numbers

2a : a musical interval (see interval sense 2a) embracing four tones of the diatonic scale

b : a tone at this interval specifically : subdominant sense 1

c : the harmonic combination of two tones a fourth apart

3 : the fourth forward gear or speed of a motor vehicle shifted into fourth

4 capitalized : independence day —used with thewatched fireworks on the Fourth

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Examples of fourth in a Sentence

cut the cake into fourths She drank a fourth of the bottle.

Recent Examples on the Web By early April, that number had grown to project as many as 5,516 deaths by May 16, a number that would have put Alabama fourth in the country for coronavirus deaths. — Leada Gore | Lgore@al.com, al, "Coronavirus deaths in Alabama now projected to be 429 by May 16," 12 Apr. 2020 Marin County graded out first, San Francisco third, San Mateo fourth, Santa Clara sixth, Santa Cruz ninth and Alameda 10th. — Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, "California’s healthiest counties, ranked," 1 Mar. 2020 Washington got the ball back and picked up one fourth-and-1 before facing another one at the Bears’ 16-yard line with 7:08 remaining. — Brad Biggs, chicagotribune.com, "Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on Bears’ 31-15 win over the Redskins in Week 3," 24 Sep. 2019 For example, the health system in Wuhan, the city where three-fourths of China's victims died, was overwhelmed at the peak of the outbreak. — Barnini Chakraborty, Fox News, "China's low COVID-19 body count, secrecy adds to credibility concerns," 14 Apr. 2020 So in a field where three-fourths of the potential candidate pool is women, what’s holding women back from the top job? — Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY, "School superintendents are overwhelmingly male. What's holding women back from the top job?," 20 Feb. 2020 There are currently 19 Democrats and seven Republicans on Metro Council, so a three-fourths vote would likely require one Republican to support moving back to partisan elections. — Darcy Costello, The Courier-Journal, "Bill to make Louisville elections nonpartisan clears state committee in party-line vote," 11 Mar. 2020 Alaska’s constitution requires a three-fourths vote in the legislature to override a budget veto—the highest such threshold in the country. — Dan Kaufman, The New Yorker, "Why Alaskans Are Trying to Recall Their Governor," 5 Mar. 2020 The amendment needed to be ratified by three-fourths or 38 of the states in seven years, the standard deadline congress has put on amendments since prohibition. — al, "Is Alabama blocking the Equal Rights Amendment?," 21 Feb. 2020

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

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Dictionary Entries near fourth

fourteen-one continuous

fourteen step

fourteen-two balkline

Statistics for fourth

Last Updated

14 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Fourth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fourth. Accessed 7 Jun. 2020.

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More Definitions for fourth

fourth

noun

English Language Learners Definition of fourth

: number four in a series

: one of four equal parts of something

: the fourth forward gear or speed of a car, truck, etc.

See the full definition for fourth in the English Language Learners Dictionary

fourth

adjective

\ ˈfȯrth

Kids Definition of fourth

(Entry 1 of 2)

: coming right after third

fourth

noun

Kids Definition of fourth (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : number four in a series

2 : one of four equal parts

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fourth

Definition of fourth

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English Language Learners Definition of fourth