forty-eight

American  

[fawr-tee-eyt] / ˈfɔr tiˈeɪt /

noun

1. a cardinal number, 40 plus 8.

2. a symbol for this number, such as 48 or XLVIII.

3. a set of 48 persons or things.

   Of the two parties that reserved a private room tonight, the forty-eight is the larger, so put them in the east dining room just off the lounge.

4. Informal. the forty-eight, the conterminous United States.

   Crossing the border into Alberta, Canada, was the first time he’d ventured beyond the forty-eight.

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adjective

1. amounting to 48 in number.

   So far, forty-eight students have registered for soccer.

Example Sentences

There are forty-eight teams in this year’s World Cup.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

Shepherd concluded that “executions have a deterrent effect in only twenty-two percent of states. In contrast, executions induce additional murders in forty-eight percent of states.”

From Slate • Jan. 16, 2026

"The current plan for many communities is... they might keep the blackout going for longer, beyond the original forty-eight hours, or keep their subreddits restricted so that nobody can post," they said.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2023

Four hundred forty-eight days later, after the coronavirus pandemic pushed several lower-division college football seasons into spring, Puget Sound on Saturday became one of 16 Division III teams to kick off.

From Washington Post • Feb. 11, 2021

Not so much book smart, even though he did know all forty-eight states and capitals and all the presidents from Washington to Roosevelt.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool