thirteen

American  

[thur-teen] / ˈθɜrˈtin /

noun

• thirteens
  plural

1. a cardinal number, 10 plus 3.

2. a symbol for this number, as 13 or XIII.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

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adjective

1. amounting to 13 in number.

thirteen British  

/ ˈθɜːˈtiːn /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and three and is a prime number See also number

2. a numeral, 13, XIII, etc, representing this number

3. the amount or quantity that is three more than ten; baker's dozen

4. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 13 units

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to thirteen

      thirteen buses

   2. ( as pronoun )

      thirteen of them fell

Usage

Spelling tips for 13 The word thirteen (13) is hard to spell because it doesn’t simply combine the spelling of the base number (three) with the suffix -teen, as is done in other easy-to-remember spellings like fourteen and sixteen.  How to spell thirteen: When three is combined with suffixes, it transforms from three (a cardinal number) to third (an ordinal number). Then, the d is dropped: thirteen (not thirdteen); thirty (not thirdty). Remember: there's no d in thirteen.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thirteens
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of thirteen

before 900; late Middle English thirttene, variant of Middle English thrittene, Old English thrēotēne; cognate with Dutch dertien, German dreizehn, Old Norse threttān. See three, -teen

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thirteen thirteens

“He had been president only thirteen days—and now he faced the prospect that to end the war and save American lives, he might have to obliterate Japan’s cities,” Mr. Scott writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The stock has been higher ten of the last thirteen weeks but still trades 9% below its annual peak.

From Barron's ● May 26, 2026

We just got new numbers, and it’s down to one in thirteen, an all-time low.

From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2025

The researchers compared thirteen models for assessing the impact of land-use change and climate change on four distinct biodiversity metrics, as well as on nine ecosystem services.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024

I’ve learned about the founding of America, the Constitution, and the thirteen original colonies.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Six seeds are 86-50 against the elevens, fives are 89-47 against twelves, and once you get to fours vs. thirteens, you're in never gonna happen territory.

From Golf Digest ● Mar. 18, 2019

I do not know, he adds, what the occult almanac makers predict, but out of curiosity I have looked back at some other thirteens.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 1, 2013

I fear it is not strong enough to give Murray much chance of realising his thirteens again.

From Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 5 With His Letters and Journals by Thomas Moore

In this case the sum of the numbers 1, 11, 6, 9, 4, 7, 9, 6, is 53; casting out the thirteens the remainder is 1, the last of the series.

From Aids to the Study of the Maya Codices Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1884-85, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1888, pages 253-372 by Cyrus Thomas

Well, honies, I'll give ye a hint, And let ivery one do it who can; When the bag of thirteens is all spint, Set up for a Parliament man.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, March 18, 1893 by Sir F. C. (Francis Cowley) Burnand

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