forty-niner

[ fawr-tee-nahy-ner ]

/ ˌfɔr tiˈnaɪ nər /

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noun

a person, especially a prospector, who went to California in 1849 during the gold rush.

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Origin of forty-niner

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Words nearby forty-niner

forty-four, forty-fourth, Forty Hours, fortyish, forty-nine, forty-niner, forty-niners, forty-ninth, forty-ninth parallel, forty-one, fortypenny

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use forty-niner in a sentence

Forty minutes later he says, ‘I think she may have chest injuries now.’
Harry’s Daddy, and Diana’s ‘Murder’: Royal Rumors In a New Play|Tom Sykes|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I was already over forty, had hardly a nickel in my pocket and this was the biggest break in my life.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Almost forty years later, it seems unlikely this will ever be the case.
Juiciest ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Rumors (and Some Debunked Ones)|Rich Goldstein|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Forty-two years after its debut, The Godfather casts a long shadow over American cinema.
The Alterna-‘Godfather’: ‘A Most Violent Year’|Nick Schager|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We were on it for forty minutes of the film, a considerable part of our schedule.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Botanists have enumerated between forty and fifty varieties of the tobacco plant who class them all among the narcotic poisons.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
It succeeds best in a deep rich loam in a climate ranging from forty to fifty degrees of latitude.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
After about the forty-fifth year it becomes gradually less; after seventy-five years it is about one-half the amount given.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
It was Wednesday night; over forty men sat down to the house-dinner at the Pandemonium Club.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The moon rose on a terrified mob trudging or riding the forty miles of road between Meerut and the Mogul capital.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for forty-niner

forty-niner

noun

(sometimes capital) US history a prospector who took part in the California gold rush of 1849

49er a type of dinghy, designed to be crewed by two people

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

forty-niner

Origin of forty-niner

Words nearby forty-niner

Words related to forty-niner

How to use forty-niner in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for forty-niner