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.

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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

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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

After forty years of living with the public’s praise and condemnation, Maggie and Kate knew how best to seek revenge against their oldest sister.

From Literature

"They took away valuables -- my radio, my phone, and forty head of livestock" from the village, he said, not daring to name those responsible.

From Barron's

The bout between two of boxing's biggest names -- who famously fought a blockbuster clash in 2015, and are now both in their late forties -- comes days after Mayweather announced he is coming out of retirement.

From Barron's

The man, who is in his forties, cannot be named for legal reasons.

From BBC

There was no reason I couldn’t close the laptop for forty minutes.

From Salon