eighty

American  

[ey-tee] / ˈeɪ ti /

noun

plural

eighties

1. a cardinal number, ten times eight.

2. a symbol for this number, as 80 or LXXX.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. eighties, the numbers, years, degrees, or the like, from 80 through 89, as in referring to numbered streets, indicating the years of a lifetime or of a century, or degrees of temperature.

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adjective

1. amounting to 80 in number.

eighty British  

/ ˈeɪtɪ /

noun

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

2. a numeral, 80, LXXX, etc, representing this number

3. (plural) the numbers 80–89, esp a person's age or the year of a particular century

4. the amount or quantity that is eight times as big as ten

5. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 80 units

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to eighty

      eighty pages of nonsense

   2. ( as pronoun )

      eighty are expected

Usage

Spelling tips for 80 The word eighty (80) is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it is not spelled the way it sounds [ ey-tee ]. Second, it is tempting to use a double t because the base word (eight) ends in a t and the suffix -ty begins with one.  How to spell eighty: To spell eighty, you start by correctly spelling the first syllable [ ey ]. The easiest way to remember how to spell eigh- is with the classic mnemonic device: “I before E, except after C, except when it’s pronounced like a long A, as in neighbor and weigh.” The collection of letters eigh often makes a long A sound [ ey ].

Etymology

Origin of eighty

before 850; Middle English eighteti, Old English eahtatig. See eight, -ty ¹

Example Sentences

She looked eighty or more, and she moved with stiff, arthritic caution.

From Literature

“We need at least eighty percent,” he said.

From Literature

But elderly people who buck this trend - and who hold on to their good bacteria well through their eighties and nineties - have been shown to live longer, healthier lives.

From BBC

I was encouraged in this wish to go on by my grad-school advisor, Harold Bloom, who kept churning until the end, writing books well into his eighties.

From The Wall Street Journal

“That came out in the eighties! They do other things now!”

From Literature