forty

American  

[fawr-tee] / ˈfɔr ti /

noun

plural

forties

1. a cardinal number, ten times four.

2. a symbol for this number, as 40 or XL or XXXX.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. forties, the numbers, years, degrees, or the like, from 40 through 49, as in referring to numbered streets, indicating the years of a lifetime or of a century, or degrees of temperature.

   His office is in the West Forties. Her parents are in their forties. The temperature will be in the forties.

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adjective

1. amounting to 40 in number.

forty British  

/ ˈfɔːtɪ /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the product of ten and four See also number

2. a numeral, 40, XL, etc, representing this number

3. something representing, represented by, or consisting of 40 units

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to forty

      forty thieves

   2. ( as pronoun )

      there were forty in the herd

Etymology

Origin of forty

before 950; Middle English fourti, Old English fēowertig (cognate with Old Frisian fiuwertich, Old High German fiorzug, German vierzig ). See four, -ty ¹

Example Sentences

The premium attached to European defense plays in the current environment are reflected in a price-to-earnings multiple of almost forty times for 2026, more than double that of the overall market.

From MarketWatch

These were not the large timber wolves but the smaller northern brush wolves, perhaps weighing forty or fifty pounds each, about as large as most of my team.

From Literature

Three days later we moved to Ikuma, forty miles from the seacoast.

From Literature

She and Pop were both in their forties.

From Literature

George Washington had lost almost all his teeth by the time he was in his forties, and this guy had a full set.

From Literature