fifteen
Americannoun
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a cardinal number, ten plus five.
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a symbol for this number, as 15 or XV.
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a set of this many persons or things.
adjective
noun
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the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and five
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a numeral, 15, XV, etc, representing this number
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something represented by, representing, or consisting of 15 units
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a rugby union football team
determiner
noun
Usage
Spelling tips for fifteen The word fifteen is hard to spell because it doesn’t simply combine the spelling of the base number, five, with the suffix -teen, as is done in other easy-to-remember spellings like fourteen and sixteen. How to spell fifteen: When five is combined with suffixes, the ve is turned into an f: fifteen (not fiveteen), fifty (not fivety), and fifth (not fiveth). Remember: there’s no v in fifteen.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fifteen
before 900; Middle English, Old English fiftene. See five, -teen
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.
Fifteen of them were inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Fifteen of them were people of color: 14 Black people and one Hispanic person.
From Slate • Jun. 8, 2026
Fifteen minutes after we broke the story, an email dropped into our inbox.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Fifteen countries were competing in the first semi, with Bettan among the 10 who progressed to Saturday's grand final, following combined votes from the public and professional juries in participating countries.
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
Taking care of Alyah in the evenings fell mostly to Alex, the quiet defender for the Under Fifteen Fugees, who would hurry home after soccer practice in time for Generose to leave for work.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
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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.