thirty-eight

noun

thir·​ty-eight ˌthər-tē-ˈāt 

1

: a number that is one more than 37 see Table of Numbers

2

: a .38 caliber handgun

—usually written .38

thirty-eight adjective

thirty-eight pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of thirty-eight in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Megan Reed, a smiley thirty-eight-year-old public-affairs manager for Bell, told me that the MV-75 was slated to replace the oldfangled Black Hawk, which entered service in 1979. —Seth Harp, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025

Four days later, CBS News obtained a list of two hundred and thirty-eight men sent to El Salvador. —Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025

Our Streets, an exhibit that featured the photography of more than thirty-eight photojournalists, including that of September 11 victim Bill Biggart. —Lashawn Harris august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025

According to Aberdeen Research, a company will spend thirty-eight million dollars a year on unplanned downtime costs, primarily due to human error ( Ryan Arsenault, 2016). —Matt Randolph, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025

The winners, chosen by an anonymous five-person panel, range in age from thirty-eight to eighty-two and were selected based on their demonstrated commitment to their respective practices, their unique contributions to their fields, and the consistently high quality of their work. —News Desk, Artforum, 8 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1541, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for thirty-eight

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate