ten

noun

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\ ˈten

plural tens

Definition of ten

1 : a number that is one more than nine — see Table of Numbers

2 : the 10th in a set or series wears a ten

3 : something having 10 units or members

4 : a 10-dollar bill

5 : one deserving the highest rating specifically : an exceptionally attractive person

— see also take ten

Other Words from ten Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About ten

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Synonyms & Antonyms for ten

Synonyms

babe
[slang],
cutie
(or cutey),
dish,
doll,
dreamboat
[slang],
fox,
glamour-puss,
hottie,
knockout,
looker,
showstopper

Antonyms

Examples of ten in a Sentence

“What time is it” “It's ten.” promised me that she would fix me up with a ten

Recent Examples on the Web This can be oversimplified and overstated, but the United States did attract immigrants by the tens of millions. — Marilynne Robinson, The New York Review of Books, 27 May 2020 City attorneys for Los Angeles and San Francisco also joined the suit, which asks the court to fine Uber and Lyft $2,500 per each misclassified driver in California; that could add up to tens of millions of dollars in penalties for each company. — Aarian Marshall, Wired, 5 May 2020 Think tens of thousands of people at a concert, conventions and crowded sports arenas. — Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2020 Higher stock prices won’t offer much consolation to the tens of millions of people who have been laid off or furloughed. — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2020 The thousands who go undrafted, along with the tens of thousands of college seniors whose seasons were ruined, will join me searching for new meaning and employment. — Toby Gerhart, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2020 There’s a reason tens of thousands of people tune in to watch esports professionals play. — Sean Collins, Dallas News, 20 Mar. 2020 People come in the tens of thousands and sometimes the hundreds of thousand. — Adam Rasgon, New York Times, 15 May 2020 Storms have typically cost Duke in the tens of millions of dollars—no small amount, but part of the cost of doing business in the U.S. Southeast. — Mark Chediak, Bloomberg.com, 12 May 2020

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

History and Etymology for ten

Middle English, going back to Old English tīen (West Saxon), tēn, going back to Germanic *tehun (whence also Old Frisian tiān, tiēn "ten," Old Saxon tehan, Old High German zehan, Old Norse tíu, Gothic taihun), going back to Indo-European *deḱm̥, whence also Old Irish deich "ten," Welsh deg, Latin decem, Old Church Slavic desętĭ, Lithuanian dẽšimt, Albanian dhjetë, Greek déka, Armenian tasn, Tocharian A śäk, Tocharian B śak, Avestan dasa, Sanskrit daśa