sixteen

American  

[siks-teen] / ˈsɪksˈtin /

noun

• sixteens
  plural

1. a cardinal number, ten plus six.

2. a symbol for this number, as 16 or XVI.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

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adjective

1. amounting to 16 in number.

sixteen British  

/ ˈsɪksˈtiːn /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and six See also number

2. a numeral, 16, XVI, etc, representing this number

3. music the numeral 16 used as the lower figure of a time signature to indicate that the beat is measured in semiquavers

4. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 16 units

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to sixteen

      sixteen tons

   2. ( as pronoun )

      sixteen are known to the police

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sixteens
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sixteen

before 900; Middle English, Old English sixtēne; cognate with Dutch zestien, German sechzehn, Old Norse sextān. See six, -teen

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sixteen sixteens

But she said that she has still pushed for it, and that affordable housing construction in her district has grown by sixteen times under her leadership.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Her name as a possible presidential nominee was first put forward in an open letter signed by sixteen prominent Hungarians, including the inventor of the Rubik's Cube, Erno Rubik.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

He was previously posted to Moscow, and his memoir about his time in Russia, “This Cursed Beautiful Land”—including the sixteen months he spent in prison on false espionage charges—will be published in September 2026.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Rhondda Cynon Taf council officials have since recommended the council purchases sixteen homes on the street, at a cost of £2.57m.

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026

Well, Pa was sixteen and pretty strong, but that old outhouse wouldn’t budge.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

A Harvard Medical School lecturer, she worries that lavish ultrasound parties will lead to extravagant first birthday parties, sweet sixteens and weddings as parents try to one-up themselves.

From Washington Times ● May 15, 2016

She shoots all kinds of parties and events—weddings, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras, graduations, anniversaries, sweet sixteens.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

He liked eights best, but he’d settle for fours, sixes, twelves, sixteens, any even number, really.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

I find myself standing in a clump of sixteens from the Seam.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Don’t give him all the page sixteens when you come back.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

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