fortieth

American  

[fawr-tee-ith] / ˈfɔr ti ɪθ /

adjective

1. next after the thirty-ninth; being the ordinal number for 40.

2. being one of 40 equal parts.

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noun

• fortieths
  plural

1. a fortieth part, especially of one (1/40).

2. the fortieth member of a series.

fortieth British  

/ ˈfɔːtɪɪθ /

adjective

1. 1. being the ordinal number of forty in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc. Often written: 40th

   2. ( as noun )

      he was the fortieth

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noun

1. 1. one of 40 approximately equal parts of something

   2. ( as modifier )

      a fortieth part

2. the fraction equal to one divided by 40 ( 1/ 40 )

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fortieths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fortieth

before 1100; Middle English fourtithe, Old English fēowertigotha. See forty, -eth ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fortieth fortieths

It orbits extremely close to its star, at a distance just one fortieth that of Mercury from the Sun.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 22, 2026

For the past 900 years, the coronation has been held in Westminster Abbey - William the Conqueror was the first monarch to be crowned there, and Charles will be the fortieth.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2022

I recently booked a birthday trip to Europe for my fortieth birthday in 2023 and can’t cancel the plans or will lose out on the money.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2022

"Administrators cite the omicron variant, but one report says omicron case fatality rate is one fortieth of that of the delta variant," Hurley added in the video.

From Fox News ● Jan. 22, 2022

Qn the fortieth day and the two succeeding we were snowed in by a blizzard.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

On one fortieth of the shares much higher interest was to be paid than on the other thirty-nine fortieths.

From The History of England, from the Accession of James II — Volume 4 by Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron Macaulay

It will hardly be said to reach us, the book with forty-man power in it, until it has been broken up into fortieths of itself.

From The Lost Art of Reading by Gerald Stanley Lee