fifteen

American  

[fif-teen] / ˈfɪfˈtin /

noun

1. a cardinal number, ten plus five.

2. a symbol for this number, as 15 or XV.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

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adjective

1. amounting to 15 in number.

fifteen ¹ British  

/ ˈfɪfˈtiːn /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and five

2. a numeral, 15, XV, etc, representing this number

3. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 15 units

4. a rugby union football team

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to fifteen

      fifteen jokes

   2. ( as pronoun )

      fifteen of us danced

Fifteen ² British  

/ ˈfɪfˈtiːn /

noun

1. history the Jacobite rising of 1715

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Usage

Spelling tips for fifteen The word fifteen is hard to spell because it doesn’t simply combine the spelling of the base number, five, with the suffix -teen, as is done in other easy-to-remember spellings like fourteen and sixteen.  How to spell fifteen: When five is combined with suffixes, the ve is turned into an f: fifteen (not fiveteen), fifty (not fivety), and fifth (not fiveth). Remember: there’s no v in fifteen.

Etymology

Origin of fifteen

before 900; Middle English, Old English fiftene. See five, -teen

Example Sentences

The sisters spent as many as twelve to fifteen hours a day in spirit work, with few breaks.

From Literature

She never overlooked an opportunity, and it seemed that these opportunities came about every fifteen minutes.

From Literature

He’s fifteen and prefers groaning to actual human words.

From Literature

“The library will be closing in fifteen minutes,” a voice said.

From Literature

He hadn’t seen a weather report for a couple of hours, but he estimated that the wind was blowing at least fifteen miles an hour where they were standing, and gusting to twenty-five or thirty.

From Literature