tenth

American  

[tenth] / tɛnθ /

adjective

1. next after ninth; being the ordinal number for ten.

2. being one of ten equal parts.

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noun

1. one of ten equal parts, especially of one (1/10).

2. the member of a series preceding the eleventh and following the ninth.

3. Music.

   1. a tone distant from another tone by an interval of an octave and a third.

   2. the interval between such tones.

   3. the harmonic combination of such tones.

4. Also called tenth's place.  (in decimal notation) the position of the first digit to the right of the decimal point.

adverb

1. in the tenth place; tenthly.

tenth British  

/ tɛnθ /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal)

   1. coming after the ninth in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc; being the ordinal number of ten: often written 10th

   2. ( as noun )

      see you on the tenth

      tenth in line

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noun

1. 1. one of 10 approximately equal parts of something

   2. ( as modifier )

      a tenth part

2. one of 10 equal divisions of a particular measurement, etc

   decibel

3. the fraction equal to one divided by ten ( 1/ 10 )

4. music

   1. an interval of one octave plus a third

   2. one of two notes constituting such an interval in relation to the other

adverb

1. Also: tenthly.  after the ninth person, position, event, etc

1. Also: tenthly.  as the 10th point: linking what follows with the previous statements, as in a speech or argument

Etymology

Origin of tenth

before 1150; Middle English tenthe, Old English. See ten, -th ², tithe

Example Sentences

Therefore a chunky tenth of a fund in gold is quite an emphatic call, even if many funds have been raising their gold holdings in the last couple of years.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

Pears dropped to tenth place after outranking apples, blackberries and blueberries in 2025.

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026

And with births falling again in 2025 for the tenth year in a row in Japan, the country desperately needs foreign workers.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

More than half of first-time buyers are now signing on for 30 years or more, with the average deposit worth around a tenth more than a person's yearly salary.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

“That must be the tenth time you’ve said that in the last hour.”

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques