twenty

[ twen-tee, twuhn- ]

/ ˈtwɛn ti, ˈtwʌn- /

Save This Word!

noun, plural twen·ties.

a cardinal number, 10 times 2.

a symbol for this number, as 20 or XX.

a set of this many persons or things.

Informal. a twenty-dollar bill: Can you give me two tens for a twenty?

twenties, the numbers, years, degrees, or the like, from 20 through 29, as in referring to numbered streets, indicating the years of a lifetime or of a century, or referring to degrees of temperature: He lives in the West Twenties. She's in her early twenties. The temperature must be in the high twenties today.

Also 20 .Slang. location; ten-twenty: What’s your twenty?

adjective

amounting to 20 in number.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of twenty

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English twēntig; cognate with Old Frisian tw(e)intich,Old High German zweinzug (German zwanzig ), Gothic twai tigjus two tens

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use twenty in a sentence

An Australian woman in her late twenties told me she was an “honorary Jew” with no actual Jewish heritage.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed|Emily Shire|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“It really sucks to be in your younger twenties,” Colfer told Esquire.
Chris Colfer on Writing, Acting, and the Pain of Being A Pop Culture Trailblazer|Oliver Jones|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When I was in the closet in my twenties, I considered suicide almost every day.
Do LGBTs Owe Christians an Olive Branch? Try The Other Way Around|Jay Michaelson|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He once told me that he only vaguely understood “the mechanical aspects of sex” until he was in his early twenties.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We were all young—in our twenties—and felt honored to be having dinner with Cosby.
‘I Saved My Friend From Bill Cosby’|Lloyd Grove|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Only in the early twenties, between twenty-two and twenty-five, a longing for something else came to me.
Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays|Various
In the early twenties, he exchanged his chips and whetstones for single shares of bank stock.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney
It won't be reckoned by twenties, nor yet by hundreds, won't Miss Maxfield's fortin'!
A Charming Fellow, Volume II (of 3)|Frances Eleanor Trollope
Up to this time they have been putting out tens and twenties.
Frank Merriwell's Bravery|Burt L. Standish
It was written early in the twenties, but was printed only in 1861, since when it has had several editions.
The History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century|Leo Wiener

British Dictionary definitions for twenty

twenty

/ (ˈtwɛntɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the cardinal number that is the product of ten and two; a scoreSee also number (def. 1)

a numeral, 20, XX, etc, representing this number

something representing, represented by, or consisting of 20 units

determiner

amounting to twentytwenty questions
(as pronoun)to order twenty

Other words from twenty

Related adjectives: vicenary, vigesimalRelated prefix: icosa-

Word Origin for twenty

Old English twēntig; related to Old High German zweinzug, German zwanzig

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