twelve

American  

[twelv] / twɛlv /

noun

twelves plural

1. a cardinal number, 10 plus 2.

2. a symbol for this number, as 12 or XII.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. the Twelve, the 12 apostles chosen by Christ.

---

adjective

1. amounting to 12 in number.

twelve British  

/ twɛlv /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and two See also number

2. a numeral, 12, XII, etc, representing this number

3. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 12 units

4. Also called: twelve o'clock.  noon or midnight

---

determiner

1. 1. amounting to twelve

      twelve loaves

   2. ( as pronoun ) See also dozen

      twelve have arrived

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• twelves
  plural

Etymology

Origin of twelve

before 900; Middle English twelve, inflected form of twelf, Old English twelfe literally, (ten and) two leave, i.e., two left over; cognate with Old Frisian twelef, twelf, Old High German zwelif, Old Norse tōlf, Gothic twalif; compare Lithuanian dvýlika; see two, leave ¹, eleven

Example Sentences

It has cookie dough, because sometimes hospitality means baking twelve cookies for friends, and sometimes it means baking two for yourself while standing barefoot in the kitchen.

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2026

Researchers identified bones there belonging to at least twelve Neanderthals.

From Science Daily • Jul. 7, 2026

Going back as far as 1900, in the last twelve months alone, S&P 500’s earnings have jumped from 26% above trend to 57% and yet earnings multiples have continued to expand, they noted.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026

Profit boosting measures should increase the underlying operating margin by around 2% in 2027 from the twelve months to March 2026, with further improvement from 2028 and beyond, it added.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026

They stretched back twelve rows, with two seats per row on the left side of the aisle and one each on the right.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix