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

Meanwhile, global policy initiatives on aging like the United Nations’ Decade of Healthy Ageing overlook menopause entirely.

From Salon • Jun. 14, 2026

Decade by decade, age by age, the world flip flops between the two.

From Barron's • Jan. 5, 2026

The posts were agreed as part of the New Decade New Approach deal in 2020, which led to the restoration of the Stormont executive after a three-year collapse.

From BBC • Oct. 28, 2025

Appeared in the October 11, 2025, print edition as 'AMD’s CEO Worked For a Decade for This Week’s Win'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

Decade by decade, she watched Rosa Parks’s fame grow as the person who had ignited the movement by refusing to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose