sixteenth

[siks-teenth]

adjective

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

2. being one of 16 equal parts.

noun

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

2. the sixteenth member of a series.

3. Music.,  sixteenth note.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sixteenth¹

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

Example Sentences

Indeed, Spanish steel might have conquered the New World in the sixteenth century, but its long rule over that vast region was facilitated by the appeal of a shared Christian religion.

From Salon

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

From Los Angeles Times

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

The 5-year-old mare ran just off the leader and then made her move with about a sixteenth of a mile to go and just got up at the wire.

From Los Angeles Times

They were the string her father had given her last year for her sixteenth birthday.

From Literature