forty

noun

for·​ty ˈfȯr-tē 

plural forties

1

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

2

forties plural : the numbers 40 to 49

specifically : the years 40 to 49 in a lifetime or century

3

: the third point scored by a side in a game of tennis

4

or 40 US, informal : a forty-ounce bottle or other container of an alcoholic beverage (such as beer or malt liquor)

Kelvin finished his forty in seven or eight long gulps. Tossed the bottle in the median carpeted with brown grass.

—Dave Byrne

… smoking weed and drinking 40s while her kids run loose.

—Jim Schutze

fortieth

ˈfȯr-tē-əth 

adjective or noun

forty adjective

forty pronoun, plural in construction

fortyish

ˈfȯr-tē-ish 

adjective

Examples of forty in a Sentence

The temperature outside is in the high forties.

She is in her forties.

Recent Examples on the Web

That means a boss in their forties to mid-to-late fifties. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024

Academics at the University of Essex in the U.K. found children who exhibited behavior like bullying and throwing temper tantrums were likely to go on to earn more money than other children in their forties, according to a study published earlier in March. —Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 28 Mar. 2024

The target, a man in his forties, soon emerged, barefoot and scowling, and was taken into custody. —Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024

The actual connection between the two young girls (now women in their thirties and forties) isn’t all that hard to parse given the details laid out, and the movie is quick to reveal it too. —Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024

Exercise really helps Studies have shown that women–especially those in their forties and beyond–are less likely to exercise consistently, if at all. —Hannah Coates, Vogue, 15 Mar. 2024

By her early forties, Hoover had become one of the most successful Native American academics in the country, renowned for her work in food sovereignty, the idea that self-determination entails controlling one’s sources of nutrition. —Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024

So Yeagley—a technology consultant then in his late forties who had worked in and around government projects nearly his entire career—made a PowerPoint presentation and went out to demonstrate precisely how that data was a serious national security risk. —Byron Tau, WIRED, 27 Feb. 2024

And to further complicate matters, only 9% of US automation engineers are in their twenties, while the majority of these workers are far beyond their forties, according to Zippia research. —Natan Linder, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fourty, adjective, from Old English fēowertig, from fēowertig group of 40, from fēower four + -tig group of 10; akin to Old English tīen ten

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing forty

• forty-five
• forty winks
• forty-niner

Kids Definition

forty

noun

for·​ty ˈfȯrt-ē 

plural forties

: a number equal to four times 10 see number

fortieth

-ē-əth 

adjective or noun

forty adjective or pronoun

fortyish

-ē-ish 

adjective