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

Patterson, Judge, and Daniels were all inspired by their own experiences as parents with children in their twenties while writing Bobby’s storyline of navigating early adulthood, and particularly with Hank’s storyline of learning how to let Bobby make his own decisions in life. —Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2025

The reason for the parallel resonance of gambler and magician lies partly in timing: both are icons of the twenties, the dawn of an era when local legends became national celebrities. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025

The sixties reminds this journalist of the fertile twenties in American literature with Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck and the like. —Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025

The twenties—a decade long criticized as a limbo land of self-discovery, existential confusion and emotional turbulence. —Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025

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