Trivia Time

Which decade is often associated with flappers, jazz, and speakeasies?

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decade

American  

[dek-eyd, duh-keyd] / ˈdɛk eɪd, dəˈkeɪd /

noun

• decades
  plural

1. a period of ten years.

   the three decades from 1776 to 1806.

2. a period of ten years beginning with a year whose last digit is zero.

   the decade of the 1980s.

3. a group, set, or series of ten.

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decade British  

/ dɪˈkeɪd, ˈdɛkeɪd /

noun

1. a period of ten consecutive years

2. a group or series of ten

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-decade
  noun
• decadal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• decades
  plural

Etymology

Origin of decade

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin decad-, stem of decas, from Greek dekás “group of ten”; equivalent to deca- + -ade ²

Explanation

She was so nervous to see her high school sweetheart at their reunion: it had been a decade (ten years) since she'd seen him at graduation, and she still got butterflies thinking about him. A decade is a period of ten years. Decade contains dec, which is used in words that have to do with tens. The Marty Paich Dectet was a band with ten players. A decahedron is a shape with ten faces. And the decimal system is based on the number ten.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

decade decades

The partnership ended more than a decade later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

It can take over a decade to approve new long-distance transmission lines, and more will need to be built for the expected electricity growth across our nation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

A decade later, during the pandemic, home prices skyrocketed, and in the years since, interest rates have risen as well.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

A post from an artificial intelligence researcher who quit AI firm Anthropic went viral last week after it claimed AI could kill all humans by the end of the decade if left unchecked.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

American troops, who have occupied the islands for generations, increase their presence as the new decade approaches.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

For decades, single, divorced and many widowed drivers have paid more for auto insurance in California than those who are married.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Some of the exiled had betrayed Britain decades earlier, their names allegedly appearing on a “naughty list” in the Soviet Embassy in London “in the wake of 1989.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Humphrys, who for decades was one of the most prominent faces on the BBC, is presenting a new Channel 4 documentary called The Royals: Time to Go?

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

The legacy investor, who now is chairman of Berkshire after spending decades as its CEO, has believed for a long time that stocks almost certainly outperform bonds.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

In the seven decades since the American Revolution, these rolling hills had produced social revolutions by the dozens.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock