eighty
Americannoun
plural
eighties-
a cardinal number, ten times eight.
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a symbol for this number, as 80 or LXXX.
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a set of this many persons or things.
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eighties, the numbers, years, degrees, or the like, from 80 through 89, as in referring to numbered streets, indicating the years of a lifetime or of a century, or degrees of temperature.
adjective
noun
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the cardinal number that is the product of ten and eight See also number
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a numeral, 80, LXXX, etc, representing this number
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(plural) the numbers 80–89, esp a person's age or the year of a particular century
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the amount or quantity that is eight times as big as ten
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something represented by, representing, or consisting of 80 units
determiner
Usage
Spelling tips for 80 The word eighty (80) is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it is not spelled the way it sounds [ ey-tee ]. Second, it is tempting to use a double t because the base word (eight) ends in a t and the suffix -ty begins with one. How to spell eighty: To spell eighty, you start by correctly spelling the first syllable [ ey ]. The easiest way to remember how to spell eigh- is with the classic mnemonic device: “I before E, except after C, except when it’s pronounced like a long A, as in neighbor and weigh.” The collection of letters eigh often makes a long A sound [ ey ].
Etymology
Origin of eighty
before 850; Middle English eighteti, Old English eahtatig. See eight, -ty 1
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.
We stayed there for hours, chatting and giggling and singing along to the eighties playlist.
From Literature
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And what I felt in him was a kind of hunger that I had not experienced in more than eighty years.
From Literature
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Their speedometer topped out at eighty miles an hour, and with his foot to the floor, Barry had them at the limit.
From Literature
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She looked eighty or more, and she moved with stiff, arthritic caution.
From Literature
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“We need at least eighty percent,” he said.
From Literature
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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.