thirteen

[thur-teen]

noun

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.

adjective

1. amounting to 13 in number.

thirteen

/ 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

determiner

1. 1. amounting to thirteen

      thirteen buses

   2. ( as pronoun )

      thirteen of them fell

Word History and Origins

Origin of thirteen¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of thirteen¹

Old English threotēne; see _three , _-teen

Example Sentences

Nevada also joined the group this week, bringing the total number of members to thirteen.

From Los Angeles Times

The remaining thirteen, which included a child, sustained minor injuries.

From BBC

The other thirteen were marked by rain or cooler, unsettled conditions - and this year looks likely to follow that well-worn path.

From BBC

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

From Salon

Hunt, a multimillionaire investment banker, was haunted by losing his father to suicide when he was thirteen.

From Salon

When To Use

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.