sixteen

American  

[siks-teen] / ˈsɪksˈtin /

noun

• sixteens
  plural

1. a cardinal number, ten plus six.

2. a symbol for this number, as 16 or XVI.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

---

adjective

1. amounting to 16 in number.

sixteen British  

/ ˈsɪksˈtiːn /

noun

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

2. a numeral, 16, XVI, etc, representing this number

3. music the numeral 16 used as the lower figure of a time signature to indicate that the beat is measured in semiquavers

4. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 16 units

---

determiner

1. 1. amounting to sixteen

      sixteen tons

   2. ( as pronoun )

      sixteen are known to the police

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sixteens
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sixteen

before 900; Middle English, Old English sixtēne; cognate with Dutch zestien, German sechzehn, Old Norse sextān. See six, -teen

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sixteen sixteens

“You know, when she was sixteen, she ran away to Oklahoma. Just took off with some guy. She was—what do you call it? Rebellious.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

All sixteen analysts that cover the stock have it rated a Buy and the consensus price target of just over $32 is more than 60% higher than its current price.

From Barron's ● Jan. 5, 2026

"I've been there sixteen years, so it's been like watching my whole life just go," she said.

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2025

The international team of researchers used high-resolution mass spectrometry to analyze the samples for a total of sixteen tire-associated compounds.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2024

An older witch, maybe sixteen or so, was jogging toward them with a huge smile on her face.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

A Harvard Medical School lecturer, she worries that lavish ultrasound parties will lead to extravagant first birthday parties, sweet sixteens and weddings as parents try to one-up themselves.

From Washington Times ● May 15, 2016

He liked eights best, but he’d settle for fours, sixes, twelves, sixteens, any even number, really.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

She shoots all kinds of parties and events—weddings, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras, graduations, anniversaries, sweet sixteens.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

Don’t give him all the page sixteens when you come back.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

I find myself standing in a clump of sixteens from the Seam.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins