decade

American  

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

noun

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

• decadal adjective
• half-decade noun

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

Example Sentences

Snow across California’s Sierra Nevada measured just 18% of average Monday — among the smallest in decades.

From Los Angeles Times

Most of those cases had been opened by Grady O’Malley, an assistant U.S. attorney who oversaw several prosecutions of union corruption while working in the New Jersey office over four decades.

From Salon

Even two decades later, and with two young children of her own, she said she was often stopped in the street by people seeking advice on their own children's hair.

From BBC

For more than a decade, the 72-year-old championed the hottest asset class on Wall Street.

From The Wall Street Journal

The challenge is that reliable samples from decades ago are hard to find.

From Science Daily