twelve

American  

[twelv] / twɛlv /

noun

• twelves
  plural

1. a cardinal number, 10 plus 2.

2. a symbol for this number, as 12 or XII.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. the Twelve, the 12 apostles chosen by Christ.

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adjective

1. amounting to 12 in number.

twelve British  

/ twɛlv /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and two See also number

2. a numeral, 12, XII, etc, representing this number

3. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 12 units

4. Also called: twelve o'clock.  noon or midnight

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to twelve

      twelve loaves

   2. ( as pronoun ) See also dozen

      twelve have arrived

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• twelves
  plural

Etymology

Origin of twelve

before 900; Middle English twelve, inflected form of twelf, Old English twelfe literally, (ten and) two leave, i.e., two left over; cognate with Old Frisian twelef, twelf, Old High German zwelif, Old Norse tōlf, Gothic twalif; compare Lithuanian dvýlika; see two, leave ¹, eleven

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

twelve twelves

Since 2013, Roblox says it has paid out more than $5 billion to creators, including $1.7 billion over the past twelve months.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

On Sunday rescue workers in China recovered twelve bodies in the Nepal-Tibet border, using excavators, shovels and ground penetrating radar at the site.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

It has cookie dough, because sometimes hospitality means baking twelve cookies for friends, and sometimes it means baking two for yourself while standing barefoot in the kitchen.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

According to FactSet, the index now trades on a price-to-earnings multiple of just 7.6 times for the next twelve months.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

Even if I had to work ten or twelve or fourteen hours a day in order to do it.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

We need to think about the world in terms of twelves!

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 7, 2019

Six seeds are 86-50 against the elevens, fives are 89-47 against twelves, and once you get to fours vs. thirteens, you're in never gonna happen territory.

From Golf Digest ● Mar. 18, 2019

Your teacher chants, “Twelve twelves, a hundred thirty-four.”

From The New Yorker ● Sep. 17, 2012

Off Newport, R.I., this summer, two new British twelves will fight it out for the right to challenge the U.S. in the best-of-seven series.

From Time Magazine Archive

“I’ve only run this weight five miles before, and it took me about an hour. That’s, like, twelves, and we’re doing ten thirties!”

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen