ninety

[ nahyn-tee ]

/ ˈnaɪn ti /

noun, plural nine·ties.

a cardinal number, ten times nine.

a symbol for this number, as 90 or XC.

a set of this many persons or things.

nineties, the numbers, years, degrees, or the like, from 90 through 99, as in referring to numbered streets, indicating the years of a lifetime or of a century, or degrees of temperature: His grandmother is in her nineties.

adjective

amounting to 90 in number.

QUIZZES

Fend Off Sciolism With This Word Of The Day Quiz

Are you the Cinderella of this week’s quiz? Test your memory on the words and definitions from March 23–29.

Question 1 of 7

schlep

to say or do hesitantly or awkwardly

to fold or wind around something

to carry; lug

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of ninety

before 1000; Middle English nineti, Old English nigontig. See nine, -ty¹

Words nearby ninety

nineteenth amendment, nineteenth hole, nineteenth man, ninetieth, ninette, ninety, ninety-day wonder, ninety-eight, ninety-eighth, ninety-fifth, ninety-first

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for ninety

Ninety percent of women waiters get harassed sexually, according to a recent study.
Why Your Waiter Hates You|Jedediah Purdy|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ninety minutes later, Scheunemann told the organizers of the ski club about the chairlift incident.
A Racist’s Crazy Ski Resort Smackdown|James Kirchick|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There only be nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety pound here.
Inside London’s Wild Brixton Academy: How Gangsters and Kurt Cobain Made It London’s Top Music Venue|Tom Sykes|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ninety miles from American shores, the Castro family rules over the island prison of Cuba guided by communist principles.
Communism's Victims Deserve a Museum|James Kirchick|August 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At Space Ninety 8, you can sport your hipster badge with pride.
Where to Eat and Shop in NYC…All in One Spot|Valeriya Safronova|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On turning the paper through ninety degrees or by actual measurement, the extent of the illusion will become apparent.
Visual Illusions|Matthew Luckiesh
During the day his Lee-Metfords, at ninety yards' range, might be trusted to keep the place clear of intruders.
The Wings of the Morning|Louis Tracy
Whales, all of ninety feet in length, stayed about the ship several days at a time.
Cape Cod and All the Pilgrim Land, June 1922, Volume 6, Number 4|Various
The day arrived, and before nine o'clock in the morning the mercury stood at ninety degrees in the shade.
The Wit of Women|Kate Sanborn
With the thermometer at ninety, for days he had pushed ahead, determined to find the Shoshones.
The Conquest|Eva Emery Dye

British Dictionary definitions for ninety

ninety

/ (ˈnaɪntɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the cardinal number that is the product of ten and nineSee also number (def. 1)

a numeral, 90, XC, etc, representing this number

something represented by, representing, or consisting of 90 units

determiner

amounting to ninetyninety times out of a hundred
(as pronoun)at least ninety are thought to be missing

Word Origin for ninety

Old English nigontig

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