forty

American  

[fawr-tee] / ˈfɔr ti /

noun

plural

forties

1. a cardinal number, ten times four.

2. a symbol for this number, as 40 or XL or XXXX.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. forties, the numbers, years, degrees, or the like, from 40 through 49, as in referring to numbered streets, indicating the years of a lifetime or of a century, or degrees of temperature.

   His office is in the West Forties. Her parents are in their forties. The temperature will be in the forties.

---

adjective

1. amounting to 40 in number.

forty British  

/ ˈfɔːtɪ /

noun

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

2. a numeral, 40, XL, etc, representing this number

3. something representing, represented by, or consisting of 40 units

---

determiner

1. 1. amounting to forty

      forty thieves

   2. ( as pronoun )

      there were forty in the herd

Etymology

Origin of forty

before 950; Middle English fourti, Old English fēowertig (cognate with Old Frisian fiuwertich, Old High German fiorzug, German vierzig ). See four, -ty ¹

Example Sentences

James Hankins is leaving Harvard after forty years as a history professor.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Tripoli government's General Mohamed Al-Haddad, four of his advisers and three crew died when the Falcon 50 jet they were travelling on crashed less than forty minutes after take-off on Tuesday.

From Barron's

The family of a former Irish rugby star whose international caps were stolen during a break-in almost forty years ago have appealed for their return.

From BBC

Over roughly forty years, the direction of this research has shifted in notable ways.

From Science Daily

He appeared mystified that his work completed forty years ago is worthy of science's most prestigious prize.

From BBC