forty

[ fawr-tee ]

noun

, plural for·ties.

1. a cardinal number, ten times four.
2. a symbol for this number, as 40 or XL or XXXX.
3. a set of this many persons or things.
4. forties, the numbers, years, degrees, or the like, from 40 through 49, as in referring to numbered streets, indicating the years of a lifetime or of a century, or degrees of temperature:

   His office is in the West Forties. Her parents are in their forties. The temperature will be in the forties.

adjective

1. amounting to 40 in number.

forty

/ ˈfɔːtɪ /

noun

1. See number
   the cardinal number that is the product of ten and four See also number
2. a numeral, 40, XL, etc, representing this number
3. something representing, represented by, or consisting of 40 units

determiner

1. 1. amounting to forty

      forty thieves

   2. ( as pronoun )

      there were forty in the herd

Word History and Origins

Origin of forty¹

before 950; Middle English fourti, Old English fēowertig (cognate with Old Frisian fiuwertich, Old High German fiorzug, German vierzig ). See four, -ty ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of forty¹

Old English fēowertig

Example Sentences

Forty minutes later he says, ‘I think she may have chest injuries now.’

From The Daily Beast

I was already over forty, had hardly a nickel in my pocket and this was the biggest break in my life.

From The Daily Beast

Almost forty years later, it seems unlikely this will ever be the case.

From The Daily Beast

Forty-two years after its debut, The Godfather casts a long shadow over American cinema.

From The Daily Beast

We were on it for forty minutes of the film, a considerable part of our schedule.

From The Daily Beast

Botanists have enumerated between forty and fifty varieties of the tobacco plant who class them all among the narcotic poisons.

From Project Gutenberg

It succeeds best in a deep rich loam in a climate ranging from forty to fifty degrees of latitude.

From Project Gutenberg

After about the forty-fifth year it becomes gradually less; after seventy-five years it is about one-half the amount given.

From Project Gutenberg

It was Wednesday night; over forty men sat down to the house-dinner at the Pandemonium Club.

From Project Gutenberg

The moon rose on a terrified mob trudging or riding the forty miles of road between Meerut and the Mogul capital.

From Project Gutenberg