decade
Americannoun
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a period of ten years.
the three decades from 1776 to 1806.
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a period of ten years beginning with a year whose last digit is zero.
the decade of the 1980s.
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a group, set, or series of ten.
noun
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a period of ten consecutive years
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a group or series of ten
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of decade
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin decad-, stem of decas, from Greek dekás “group of ten”; equivalent to deca- + -ade 2
Explanation
She was so nervous to see her high school sweetheart at their reunion: it had been a decade (ten years) since she'd seen him at graduation, and she still got butterflies thinking about him. A decade is a period of ten years. Decade contains dec, which is used in words that have to do with tens. The Marty Paich Dectet was a band with ten players. A decahedron is a shape with ten faces. And the decimal system is based on the number ten.
Vocabulary lists containing decade
Perfect Ten: Dec, Cent, Mille
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"The Hunger Games," Chapter 2 Vocabulary
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Word Generation Weekly - Series 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Meanwhile, global policy initiatives on aging like the United Nations’ Decade of Healthy Ageing overlook menopause entirely.
From Salon • Jun. 14, 2026
While “The Long Run’s” subtitle suggests a portrait of “The Decade That Made the Marathon Cool,” that decade—the 1970s—is prefaced by more than 100 pages of history.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
She is the author of “Bad Feminist,” “Hunger” and “Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business,” among other works, and the founder of the Audacious Book Club.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Decade by decade, age by age, the world flip flops between the two.
From Barron's • Jan. 5, 2026
Decade by decade, the Mary Rose slipped deeper and deeper into the seabed until it was almost completely forgotten.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
