twelfth

American  

[twelfth] / twɛlfθ /

adjective

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

2. being one of 12 equal parts.

---

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

---

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

The announcement comes days after the 48-year-old, now known as Ye, released his twelfth studio album Bully.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026

The maqāma genre emerged in the late tenth century and became especially popular from the twelfth century onward.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 11, 2025

Taylor Swift has announced her twelfth studio album The Life of a Showgirl, after an intense 24 hours of speculation from fans.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2025

I know the exact date: October twelfth, fourth grade.

From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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

It has three struts, each nine holes in length, half a hole in breadth, and five twelfths in thickness.

From The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio

This budget being paid by twelfths before the 15th of the following month, she required to have submitted to her the receipts of the month past.

From The Duchess of Berry and the Court of Charles X by Arthur Léon, baron Imbert de Saint-Amand

In mat 335 all measurements are the same as in the above mats, except that the circle is divided into twelfths instead of sixths, making twice as many groups of fish.

From Philippine Mats Philippine Craftsman Reprint Series No. 1 by Hugo H. Miller

Even adding the 5 and 7 in 5⁄12 + 7⁄12 is not quite the same task as adding 5 and 7 undisturbed by the fact that they are twelfths.

From The Psychology of Arithmetic by Edward L. (Edward Lee) Thorndike

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---