fifteen

[ fif-teen ]

/ ˈfɪfˈtin /

noun

a cardinal number, ten plus five.

a symbol for this number, as 15 or XV.

a set of this many persons or things.

adjective

amounting to 15 in number.

Nearby words

fifa, fife, fife rail, fifi hook, fifo, fifteen, fifteen men on the dead man's chest — / yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!, fifteenth, fifteenth amendment, fifth, fifth amendment

Origin of fifteen

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fifteen

Bob Cratchit, the clerk who is the father of Tiny Tim and who meekly serves Scrooge, is paid fifteen shillings a week.
How Dickens and Scrooge Saved Christmas|Clive Irving|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fifteen people were killed, more than 200 were injured, and more than 300 families lost their homes.
Heed the Warnings: Why We’re on the Brink of Mass Extinction|Sean B. Carroll|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fifteen years later, the same communities had returned for the annual celebration, as most had year after year.
London’s Pagan Counterculture Kings|Justin Jones|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fifteen years after its last execution, Pennsylvania is finding it difficult to fire up its death machine again.
Pennsylvania’s Lethal Injection Fiasco|Christopher Moraff|September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Fifteen percent of all 911 calls involve a person with a physical or mental disability.
Police Brutality's Hidden Victims: The Disabled|Elizabeth Heideman|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As resident physician for over fifteen years, I had learned patience in these matters.
Unbegotten Child|Winston Marks
It was thirty-five feet long by fifteen broad, and twenty-two feet high.
Kate Carnegie and Those Ministers|Ian Maclaren
You have fifteen rum-shops to meet before you get back to your wife and child.
A Singular Life|Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
Had a war over here not long ago, I understand—somethin' like ten or fifteen years ago.
Graustark|George Barr McCutcheon
Yes, I am proud of my dear daughter whom I have not seen in fifteen years.
The Girls at Mount Morris|Amanda Minnie Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for fifteen (1 of 2)

fifteen

/ (ˈfɪfˈtiːn) /

noun

the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and five

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

something represented by, representing, or consisting of 15 units

a rugby union football team

determiner

amounting to fifteenfifteen jokes
(as pronoun)fifteen of us danced

Word Origin for fifteen

Old English fīftēne

British Dictionary definitions for fifteen (2 of 2)

Fifteen

/ (ˈfɪfˈtiːn) /

noun

the Fifteen British history the Jacobite rising of 1715

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

Word Origin and History for fifteen

fifteen

Old English fiftyne, from fif "five" (see five) + tyne (see -teen). Cf. Old Saxon fiftein, Old Frisian fiftine, Old Norse fimtan, Swedish femton, Dutch vijftien, German fünfzehn, Gothic fimftaihun "fifteen." French quinze, Italian quindici "fifteen" are from Latin quindecim (see Quatorze).