sixteenth

American  

[siks-teenth] / ˈsɪksˈtinθ /

adjective

1. next after the fifteenth; being the ordinal number for 16.

2. being one of 16 equal parts.

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noun

sixteenths plural

1. a sixteenth part, especially of one (1/16).

2. the sixteenth member of a series.

3. Music. sixteenth note.

sixteenth British  

/ ˈsɪksˈtiːnθ /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal)

   1. coming after the fifteenth in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc; being the ordinal number of sixteen: often written 16th

   2. ( as noun )

      the sixteenth of the month

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noun

1. 1. one of 16 equal or nearly equal parts of something

   2. ( as modifier )

      a sixteenth part

2. the fraction that is equal to one divided by 16 ( 1/ 16 )

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sixteenths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sixteenth

before 900; Middle English sixtenthe ( see sixteen, -th ²); replacing Middle English sixtenthe, sixtethe, Old English sixtēotha ( see tithe)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sixteenth sixteenths

The biggest technical reason is the race is a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Derby.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2025

When Kelsey Barnard Clark won the sixteenth season of "Top Chef," set in Kentucky, she clinched victory with a dish that defied fine dining expectations: cornbread and buttermilk with crawfish, boiled peanuts, cucumber and watermelon.

From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2025

A sixteenth child died on Sunday at a hospital in the southern city of Rafah, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported on Monday.

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2024

Artisan is Bayer’s sixteenth biggest investor, according to Refinitiv data.

From Reuters ● Aug. 25, 2023

The eighth, sixteenth, and thirty-second harmonics will also be A's.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

So you would divide your portfolio into sixteenths and spend one of them this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

The Preakness distance is 1 3-16 miles, a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Kentucky Derby, and five sixteenths shorter than the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes, called the Test of the Champion.

From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2013

The 2001 switch to decimal share pricing, from sixteenths of a dollar, allowed any firm willing to sell for a penny less than the best available price to step in and make the trade.

From BusinessWeek ● Feb. 10, 2011

One yellow and grey painting has a pattern of grids, some of which are quartered, some cut to sixteenths, and so on.

From Time Magazine Archive

Seabiscuit had run the mile and three sixteenths in 1:56%.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand