sixth

[ siksth ]

/ sɪksθ /

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adjective

next after the fifth; being the ordinal number for six.

being one of six equal parts.

noun

a sixth part, especially of one (1/6).

the sixth member of a series.

Music.

a tone on the sixth degree from a given tone (counted as a first).
the interval between such tones.
the harmonic combination of such tones.

adverb

in the sixth place; sixthly.

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Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of sixth

before 900; six + -th²; replacing sixt,Middle English sixte,Old English sixta

OTHER WORDS FROM sixth

sixthly, adverb

Words nearby sixth

sixteenpenny, sixteenth, Sixteenth Amendment, sixteenth note, sixteenth rest, sixth, Sixth Amendment, sixth chord, sixth column, Sixth Commandment, sixth form

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

How to use sixth in a sentence

Costs would need to drop to around a sixth of this level for the company to make a profit.
The World’s Largest Direct Air Capture Plant Is Now Pulling CO2 From the Air in Iceland|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|September 9, 2021|Singularity Hub
Months had passed since the sixth-grader decided he wanted to die, and now the day that he hoped would be his last had come.
As school shootings surge, a sixth-grader tucks his dad’s gun in his backpack|John Woodrow Cox, Steven Rich|June 24, 2021|Washington Post
The Englishman rebounded to make par on the par-3 sixth and maintains a one-shot lead over Marc Leishman and Will Zalatoris for now.
Hideki Matsuyama’s sublime day at the Masters gives him a four-shot lead and a shot at history|Chuck Culpepper, Scott Allen|April 11, 2021|Washington Post
“You don’t have to fight them to wear masks,” said Snew, who is in her first year teaching Bear Valley sixth-graders English and social studies.
One North County School Managed to Open and (Mostly) Stay Open|Ashly McGlone|March 29, 2021|Voice of San Diego

He most recently coached the Nashville Predators, who fired him in the middle of his sixth season last January.
What you may have missed in the Caps’ offseason, and what experts predict for this season|Scott Allen|January 14, 2021|Washington Post
This “Sixth Migration” of massive human migration to Texas is the larger story of the book, and it is a significant story.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rick would cut together five years worth of work, add the sixth, then recut six years worth of work, add the seventh, and so on.
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Turkey has had more than a decade of economic boom, and is now the sixth-most-visited tourist destination in the world.
The Women Battling an Islamist Strongman|Christina Asquith|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We are currently in the sixth, which is predicted to be the worst, and, to make matters worse, we are the cause.
The Best Big Ideas Of 2014|William O’Connor|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead of our sixth iPhone we suddenly start thinking about our first Jitterbug.
Christmas Is the New Subprime|Doug McIntyre|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Under the one-sixth they appear as slender, highly refractive fibers with double contour and, often, curled or split ends.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The two-thirds objective should be used as a finder, while the one-sixth is reserved for examining details.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
They are easily seen with the one-sixth objective in the routine microscopic examination.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The sixth line is in these words: “Keeping time, time, time, in a sort of Runic rhyme.”
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Who can explain the sixth sense that warns a night-herder of a stampede a moment before the herd jumps off the bed-ground?
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for sixth

sixth

/ (sɪksθ) /

adjective

(usually prenominal)

coming after the fifth and before the seventh in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc; being the ordinal number of six: often written 6th
(as noun)the sixth to go

noun

one of six equal or nearly equal parts of an object, quantity, measurement, etc
(as modifier)a sixth part

the fraction equal to one divided by six (1/6)

music

the interval between one note and another note six notes away from it counting inclusively along the diatonic scale
one of two notes constituting such an interval in relation to the otherSee also major (def. 14), minor (def. 4), interval (def. 5)
short for sixth chord

adverb

Also: sixthly after the fifth person, position, etc

sentence connector

Also: sixthly as the sixth point: linking what follows to the previous statements

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