eighteen

American  

[ay-teen] / ˈeɪˈtin /

noun

• eighteens
  plural

1. 

   a cardinal number, ten plus eight.

2. a symbol for this number, as 18 or XVIII.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

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adjective

1. amounting to 18 in number.

eighteen British  

/ ˈeɪˈtiːn /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and eight and the product of two and nine See also number

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

3. the amount or quantity that is eight more than ten

4. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 18 units

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

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to eighteen

      eighteen weeks

   2. ( as pronoun )

      eighteen of them knew

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• eighteens
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of eighteen

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eighteen eighteens

At age eighteen, he joined the Wiltshire militia in 1807.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

Toeing the government line, Ratcliffe reiterated that tracking emerging technologies has been his highest priority, "right up there with China," since he took office eighteen months ago.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

“I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. . . . Everyone else in my family is dead.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025

We counted eighteen French gendarmes watching them from the shore, declining to intervene.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2025

“We only had eighteen names to start with. Nineteen, if you count Dalton without a last name.”

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

“Ooh wee! Yo, Benny, we got steel and eighteens on this one!” he shouted like he was talking about a car.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds

One of the eighteens carried away the jib-stay and the jib-halliards.

From Woven with the Ship A Novel of 1865 by Cyrus Townsend Brady

On her main deck she carried no less than 30 twenty-four pounders, while on her upper deck she had 24 thirty-two pounders, and two eighteens.

From The Rise of Canada, from Barbarism to Wealth and Civilisation Volume 1 by Charles Roger

V Then awoke all hell below From that broadside, doubly curst, For our long eighteens in row Leaped the first discharge and burst!

From Complete Poetical Works by Bret Harte

Her own guns are fourteen-pounders, and with two eighteens she will be heavily armed.

From At Aboukir and Acre A Story of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

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