eighteen

[ ey-teen ]

/ ˈeɪˈtin /

Save This Word!

noun

a cardinal number, ten plus eight.

a symbol for this number, as 18 or XVIII.

a set of this many persons or things.

adjective

amounting to 18 in number.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of eighteen

before 1000; Middle English ehtetene,Old English eahtatēne; cognate with Old Norse āttjān,German achtzehn.See eight, -teen

Words nearby eighteen

eigenvalue, eigenvector, Eiger, eight, eightball, eighteen, eighteenmo, eighteenth, Eighteenth Amendment, eighteen-wheeler, eightfold

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use eighteen in a sentence

So many eighteen-year-old girls,” says Oliona, “breathing down my neck.
Russia’s Gold Digger Academy|Peter Pomerantsev|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In November 1885, the sudden death of her eighteen year-old daughter, Annie, brought Mandelbaum back to New York City.
Meet 'The Queen of Thieves' Marm Mandelbaum, New York City's First Mob Boss|J. North Conway|September 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By 1953, the number of Americans owning their own homes climbed to twenty-five million, up from eighteen million in 1948.
In the Future We'll All Be Renters: America's Disappearing Middle Class|Joel Kotkin|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Eighteen years old, and got hit with an IED his first month there.
Who Has the Right to Write About War?|Emily Gray Tedrowe|July 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The Tambora warming of the poles was connected to the sudden flurry in expeditions that you get in the late eighteen-teens.
The Volcano That Rewrote History|William O’Connor|May 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was a member of the first provincial congress, and eighteen years lieutenant governor of the state of New York.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
He was a boy of eighteen, aching over his first love affair; and she was divinely mothering him.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
At this period it brought enormous prices, the finest selling at from fifteen to eighteen shillings per pound.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
If the paper is about twelve by eighteen inches this will accommodate moderate examples of most of the fronds.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
One day in April the thermometer suddenly rose to eighteen above the freezing-point of Fahrenheit.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for eighteen

eighteen

/ (ˈeɪˈtiːn) /

noun

the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and eight and the product of two and nineSee also number (def. 1)

a numeral, 18, XVIII, etc, representing this number

the amount or quantity that is eight more than ten

something represented by, representing, or consisting of 18 units

(functioning as singular or plural) a team of 18 players in Australian Rules football

determiner

amounting to eighteeneighteen weeks
(as pronoun)eighteen of them knew

Word Origin for eighteen

Old English eahtatēne; related to Old Norse attjan, Old High German ahtozehan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012