twelfth

American  

[twelfth] / twɛlfθ /

adjective

1. next after the eleventh; being the ordinal number for 12.

2. being one of 12 equal parts.

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noun

twelfths plural

1. a twelfth part, especially of one (1/12).

2. the twelfth member of a series.

twelfth British  

/ twɛlfθ /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal)

   1. coming after the eleventh in number or counting order, position, time, etc; being the ordinal number of twelve: often written 12th

   2. ( as noun )

      the twelfth of the month

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noun

1. 1. one of 12 equal or nearly equal parts of an object, quantity, measurement, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a twelfth part

2. the fraction equal to one divided by 12 ( 1/ 12 )

3. music

   1. an interval of one octave plus a fifth

   2. one of two notes constituting such an interval in relation to the other

   3. an organ stop sounding a note one octave and a fifth higher than that normally produced by the key depressed

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• twelfths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of twelfth

before 900; Middle English twelfthe, twelfte, Old English twelfta, equivalent to twelf twelve + -ta -th ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

twelfth twelfths

"Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on the twelfth flight test of Starship!" the company wrote on X.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

Much less familiar is Guglielmo of Malavalle, a twelfth century hermit venerated by the Augustinians for defeating a dragon using a simple wooden staff shaped like a pitchfork.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2026

The Patriots, who already boasted the most Super Bowl appearances with 11, will now have their twelfth showing on American football's biggest stage, and a chance to vie for a record seventh Lombardi trophy.

From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026

But in its twelfth season, the new “Vanderpump” is standing still instead of moving forward.

From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2025

Without moving a pawn, on April 3, 1975, Anatoly Karpov was declared the twelfth World Champion by Dr. Max Euwe, president of FIDE.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

If there are two and a tenth waves or eleven twelfths of a wave of one note for every wave of another note, they don't fit together as well.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

The following is a convenient division: One third for breakfast, one fourth for luncheon, and five twelfths for dinner.

From School and Home Cooking by Greer, Carlotta Cherryholmes

Double and triple consonant endings present difficulties of articulation:—Robbed, bragged, divulged, mends, breathed, gossips, casques, barracks, depths, heights, lengths, breadths, lists, aspects, seethes, thirsteth, breathest, sheath'st, melt'st, search'st, sixths, twelfths, tests.

From The Ontario High School Reader by Marty, A.E.

But," added the abbé, with enthusiasm, "a loan of thirty or forty francs without interest, and reimbursable by twelfths, when work returns-for honest workmen, it is their safety, it is hope, it is life.

From Mysteries of Paris, V3 by Sue, Eugène

It should be given the thickness of seven twelfths of a hole.

From The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio