ten

[ ten ]

/ tɛn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ten ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cardinal number, nine plus one.

a symbol for this number, as 10 or X.

a set of this many persons or things.

a playing card with ten pips.

Informal. a ten-dollar bill: She had two tens and a five in her purse.

Also called ten's place. Mathematics.

(in a mixed number) the position of the second digit to the left of the decimal point.
(in a whole number) the position of the second digit from the right.

adjective

amounting to ten in number.

Nearby words

Idioms

take ten, Informal. to rest from what one is doing, especially for ten minutes.

Origin of ten

before 900; Middle English ten(e), tenn(e), Old English tēn(e), tīen(e); cognate with Dutch tien, German zehn, Old Norse tīu, Gothic taihun, Latin decem, Greek déka, Sanskrit daśa

ten.

tenor.

Music. tenuto.

10

the upper end of a rating scale, with 10 indicating the best or a perfect score: That new novel is wonderful—I'd rate it a 10.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ten

Ten of the callers identified the man as Jason Polanco of the Bronx.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As played by Omundson, King Richard is effeminate, sincere, and ten times funnier than everyone else.
‘Galavant’: A Drunken, Horny Musical Fairy Tale|Melissa Leon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I first saw Marvin when I was ten years old, living with my parents in Arlington, Virginia.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I did a ten minute scene in his class: the guy who had gangrene in his leg in The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Everything turned around and we pulled it together, got our act together for the big ten.
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll|James Joiner|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I have walked, on an average, about ten miles a-day since at Grfenberg.
Every Man his own Doctor|R. T. Claridge
Then I was conducted to the boilers, a row of ten, sunk underground in the solid rock, below the level of the shrubbery.
A Month in Yorkshire|Walter White
I thought him ten years less, and he spoke with the dogmatism of youth.
The Grey Room|Eden Phillpotts
The country for five to ten miles to the east of our track appeared open and grassy, basalt being the prevailing rock.
Journals of Australian Explorations|A C and F T Gregory
Of our ten animals, six were intended for riding, and four for carrying cargoes, each taking turn about.
A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World|Charles Darwin

British Dictionary definitions for ten

ten

/ (tɛn) /

noun

the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one. It is the base of the decimal number system and the base of the common logarithmSee also number (def. 1)

a numeral, 10, X, etc, representing this number

something representing, represented by, or consisting of ten units, such as a playing card with ten symbols on it

Also called: ten o'clock ten hours after noon or midnight

determiner

amounting to tenten tigers
(as pronoun)to sell only ten

Related formsRelated adjective: decimalRelated prefixes: deca-, deci-

Word Origin for ten

Old English tēn; related to Old Saxon tehan, Old High German zehan, Gothic taihun, Latin decem, Greek deka, Sanskrit dasa

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 ten

ten

Old English ten (Mercian), tien (West Saxon), from Proto-Germanic *tekhan (cf. Old Saxon tehan, Old Norse tiu, Danish ti, Old Frisian tian, Old Dutch ten, Dutch tien, Old High German zehan, German zehn, Gothic taihun "ten").

The Germanic words are from PIE *dekm (cf. Sanskrit dasa, Avestan dasa, Armenian tasn, Greek deka, Latin decem, Old Church Slavonic deseti, Lithuanian desimt, Old Irish deich, Breton dek, Welsh deg, Albanian djetu "ten").

Tenner "ten-pound note" is slang first recorded 1861; as "ten-dollar bill," 1887 (ten-spot in this sense dates from 1848). The ten-foot pole that you wouldn't touch something with (1909) was originally a 40-foot pole; the idea is the same as the advice to use a long spoon when you dine with the devil. Ten-four "I understand, message received," is attested in popular jargon from 1962, from use in CB and police radio 10-code (in use in U.S. by 1950).

Medicine definitions for ten

TEN

abbr.

toxic epidermal necrolysis

Idioms and Phrases with ten

ten

see count to ten; not touch with a ten-foot pole.

ten

noun

adjective

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of ten

ten.

10

Examples from the Web for ten

ten

noun

determiner

Word Origin for ten

ten

TEN

abbr.

ten