twenty

noun

twen·​ty ˈtwen-tē  ˈtwən- 

plural twenties

1

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

2

twenties plural : the numbers 20 to 29

specifically : the years 20 to 29 in a lifetime or century

3

: a 20-dollar bill

twentieth

ˈtwen-tē-əth 

ˈtwən-

adjective or noun

twenty adjective

twenty pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of twenty in a Sentence

Tomorrow the temperature will be in the low twenties.

Recent Examples on the Web

Now 58 years old, Smart was in her early twenties when she was convicted for being an accomplice to the murder of her husband Gregory Smart, which was carried out by several teenagers including a 15 year-old boy Smart was having an affair with. —Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 7 Jan. 2026

Rosenior, then in his late twenties, put himself forward to work with Hull’s academy staff, attending under-21s games and watching from the dugout. —Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026

At one salon, above a row of glass-bowl hairdryers, there’s a poster showing a perm machine from the nineteen-twenties that looks like something out of Frankenstein’s lab. —Helen Sullivan, New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2026

Menstruating people in their twenties should also pay attention to their iron intake, since the body loses iron with every period. —Emma Loewe, Outside, 1 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from twenty, adjective, from Old English twēntig, noun, group of 20, from twēn- (akin to Old English twā two) + -tig group of 10; akin to Old English tīen ten — more at two, ten

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing twenty

• twenty-four hours a day
• twenty-fourmo
• twenty-four seven
• twenty-one
• twenty-twenty
• twenty-twenty hindsight
• twenty-twenty vision
• twenty-two

Rhymes for twenty

• mentee
• plenty
• senti
• aplenty

Kids Definition

twenty

noun

twen·​ty ˈtwent-ē 

plural twenties

: a number equal to two times 10 see number

twenty adjective or pronoun