decade

[ dek-eyd; British also duh-keyd ]

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.

decade

/ ˈdɛkeɪd; dɪˈkeɪd /

noun

1. a period of ten consecutive years
2. a group or series of ten

Derived Forms

• deˈcadal, adjective

Other Words From

• half-decade noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of decade¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of decade¹

C15: from Old French, from Late Latin decad-, decas, from Greek dekas, from deka ten

Example Sentences

Within a decade or so, business schools had begun to teach that the purpose of business is to maximize “shareholder value,” a mantra that eventually rang out from practically every company boardroom.

From Quartz

IBM is feeling confident enough in its abilities that it is unveiling its full quantum hardware roadmap for the decade ahead.

From Fortune

Indeed, with electric vehicles cutting into oil demand by the end of the decade, it may never fully recover.

From Vox

After literal decades of looking up at Brady and the Patriots, their fellow AFC East teams can sense that a new era may be at hand.

From FiveThirtyEight

The more we looked over the past couple of decades, the more prevalent fresh produce is as a source of foodborne illness.

From Eater

Yet for a vivid decade or so, sleaze was, somewhat paradoxically, a force for literacy and empowerment.

From The Daily Beast

Who are some younger popular historians that you think will be a lot better known a decade from now?

From The Daily Beast

Who knew that “we shall overcome” meant “we, the few, shall book covers every decade or so, maybe, sometimes, if we are in style.”

From The Daily Beast

And black fury toward cops today is fueled by historic economic disparities and by the economic disaster of the past decade plus.

From The Daily Beast

Beyoncé has, for close to a decade now, been a deity in entertainment: untouchable, successful, divine.

From The Daily Beast

During the past decade, the population of three cities has been materially increased through annexation.

From Project Gutenberg

Approximately 216,900 persons became residents of Virginia during this decade.

From Project Gutenberg

We do not know when Chrétien wrote the Erec, but it was almost certainly some time in the decade 1150-60.

From Project Gutenberg

The advancing sand gradually crept into the hamlet, and in the course of a decade dispossessed the people by burying their houses.

From Project Gutenberg

He lived indeed through its first decade, but his active life was over before it began.

From Project Gutenberg