78

American  

[sev-uhn-tee-eyt] / ˈsɛv ən tiˈeɪt /

noun

• 78s,
  plural
• 78's
  plural

1. an early type of shellac-based phonograph record that played at 78 revolutions per minute.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• 78's
  plural
• 78s
  plural

Etymology

Origin of 78

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

78 78's 78s

The benchmark rate is now 78 basis points higher than it was a year ago, per Mortgage News Daily.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

The Renoir Museum lies a half-hour drive from the southern city of Nice, in Renoir's last home before he died aged 78 in 1919.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

Hospital network John Muir Health in Contra Costa County is cutting 78 jobs across multiple locations including Walnut Creek, Concord and Pleasanton, according to government filings from Aug. 27.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Mbaye joined PSG in the summer of 2018 from FC Versailles 78, progressing through their youth academy and making his senior debut in August 2024 at the age of 16.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

“Oh! Yes, very nice place. Very far. In the country. Lots of cows and grass. Up, up, up 78 West.”

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles

For decades, he had chafed against the 78’s constraints, occasionally recording two- or four-sided works and in concert letting pieces unfold over dozens of minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026

Dancing the foxtrot to Katy Perry’s “Unconditionally” and a freestyle dance to District 78’s “Que Calor,” Gomez and her partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, got perfect scores to secure the top prize.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2023

Whitey Morgan & the 78’s The honky-tonk band performs.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2015

We also have thousands of LP’s, mostly 78’s, and four or five old-fashioned phonographs to play them on, the old kind with the horn and the crank.

From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2011

In last week's third round Parks got a 73 while Thomson was taking 77, Sarazen and Krueger 78's.

From Time Magazine Archive

On the 78s she left behind, she’s an intriguingly forceful presence—but remote, as if heard from the next room through a paper cup and string.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

What he found in the 78s that Juarez left behind was more than a record collection; they were miniature time capsules from a teenage world bound by friendship, community, and music.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026

“It was illegal to own or play or sell the records, so people hid their 78s under their mattresses. And after the war, they began to emerge,” Sussman said.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2023

The result of the lousy weather and the increased mileage on Woods’s creaky leg: back-to-back 78s over the weekend to wind up 47th, his worst finish in any Masters in which he made the cut.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2023

My parents had some of her records, back when it was 78s, and then in New Orleans we had radio stations that had gospel programming during the day.

From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2022