seventy

noun

sev·​en·​ty ˈse-vən-tē 

ˈse-bᵊm-, 

-dē

plural seventies

1

: a number equal to seven times 10 see Table of Numbers

2

seventies plural : the numbers 70 to 79

specifically : the years 70 to 79 in a lifetime or century

3

Seventy : a Latter-day Saint elder ordained for missionary work under the apostles

seventieth

ˈse-vən-tē-əth 

ˈse-bᵊm-, 

-dē-

adjective or noun

seventy adjective

seventy pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of seventy in a Sentence

She is in her seventies.

Recent Examples on the Web

By the seventies, Romansh was losing ground; although the number of speakers inched up, the share of the Swiss population who spoke it shrank. —Simon Akam, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025

Fifty-seven years ago, another veteran character actress in her seventies, Ruth Gordon, played a batty old lady in a horror film from a major studio, Rosemary’s Baby, and ultimately took home a best supporting actress Oscar. —Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 26 Nov. 2025

His clientele tends to be in their forties up to their seventies, and 40 percent are women on solo treks. —Hillary Richard, Robb Report, 20 Nov. 2025

In 2010, the New York Times reported that the story was invented by PR professionals in the early seventies. —Martin Fritz Huber, Outside, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

seventy, adjective, from Middle English, from Old English seofontig, short for hundseofontig, from hundseofontig, noun, group of seventy, from hund hundred + seofon seven + -tig group of ten; akin to Old English tīen ten

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing seventy

• seventy-eight

Kids Definition

seventy

noun

sev·​en·​ty ˈsev-ən-tē 

plural seventies

: a number equal to seven times 10 see number

seventieth

-tē-əth 

adjective or noun

seventy adjective or pronoun