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

The men’s soccer team failed to qualify for three World Cups in the sixties and seventies, and the country’s delegations to the Summer Olympics, in 1960 and in 1964, finished with a medal count outside the top twenty. — Albert Samaha, New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2026

Beloved seventies patterns of all kinds are back in this season, from stripes to animal print. — Michel Mejía, Glamour, 5 Nov. 2026

Earlier this year, Bove coauthored a study of more than 2,600 women in their seventies and eighties, in which earlier menopause was tied to faster declines in thinking skills and, after natural menopause, greater white matter damage. — Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 5 Nov. 2026

His next group, Widowmaker, enjoyed some modest success with their two late Seventies albums, but by the early Eighties Ellis was done with music, living in the South of England, and happily working on the docks. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2026

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