sixth

[siksth]

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

adverb

in the sixth place; sixthly.

Origin of sixth

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

Related formssixth·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sixth

Contemporary Examples of sixth

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
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
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
Instead of our sixth iPhone we suddenly start thinking about our first Jitterbug.
Christmas Is the New Subprime
Doug McIntyre
December 9, 2014
“The night he sold The Sixth Sense to Disney, we were all together for dinner in LA,” Nagrani recalls.
The Hot Designer Who Hates Fashion: VK Nagrani Triumphs His Own Way
Tom Teodorczuk
December 1, 2014

Historical Examples of sixth

The sixth day brought Andrew Lanning in close view of the lower hills.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
The sixth man was Scottie, who had long since been detached from the party.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
Again, in the fourth, sixth, and seventh sonnets the same plea is urged.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
What connection exists between the sixth and seventh petitions?
An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism
Joseph Stump
The former, I was in the habit of often seeing, until I reached my fifth or sixth year.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for sixth

sixth

adjective

(usually prenominal)
1. 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
2. (as noun)the sixth to go

noun

1. one of six equal or nearly equal parts of an object, quantity, measurement, etc
2. (as modifier)a sixth part
the fraction equal to one divided by six (1/6)
music
1. the interval between one note and another note six notes away from it counting inclusively along the diatonic scale
2. one of two notes constituting such an interval in relation to the otherSee also major (def. 14), minor (def. 4), interval (def. 5)
3. 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

Word Origin and History for sixth

adj.

1520s, replacing Middle English sixte (c.1200), from Old English syxte, from siex (see six). Cf. Old Frisian sexta, Middle Dutch seste, Old High German sehsto, German sechste, Gothic saihsta. With ending conformed to -th (1). Related: Sixthly. The noun meaning "a sixth part" is from 1550s. As a music tone, from 1590s. Sixth sense "supernatural perception of objects" is attested from 1712; earlier it meant "titillation, the sense that apprehends sexual pleasure" (1690s, from Scaliger).

Then said Peter, That is false; for there is a sixth Sense, that of Prescience : for the other five Senses are capable only of Knowledg ; but the Sixth of Foreknowledg ; which Sense the Prophets had. [William Whitson, "Primitive Christianity Reviv'd," vol. V, London, 1712]