twentieth

American  

[twen-tee-ith, twuhn-] / ˈtwɛn ti ɪθ, ˈtwʌn- /

adjective

1. next after the nineteenth; being the ordinal number for 20.

2. being one of 20 equal parts.

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noun

twentieths plural

1. a twentieth part, especially of one (1/20).

2. the twentieth member of a series.

twentieth British  

/ ˈtwɛntɪɪθ /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal)

   1. coming after the nineteenth in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc; being the ordinal number of twenty: often written 20th

   2. ( as noun )

      he left on the twentieth

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noun

1. 1. one of 20 approximately equal parts of something

   2. ( as modifier )

      a twentieth part

2. the fraction that is equal to one divided by 20 ( 1/ 20 )

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• twentieths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of twentieth

before 900; Middle English twentithe, Old English twentigotha. See twenty, -eth ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

twentieth twentieths

German scientist Theodor Boveri first proposed this idea in the early twentieth century after studying cells under the microscope.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026

One Pfizer medical director referred to the drug as the “‘snake oil’ of the twentieth century” in an email later made public.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025

For one thing, recessions are no longer anywhere near as frequent as they used to be in the first half, indeed for most of the twentieth century.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2025

Mosley’s introduction provides that frame, calling the combined tales “a twentieth century memoir” and linking them to the fight for liberation and equality.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025

The winter of 1941–1942 was the coldest winter of the twentieth century.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

It was then settled by dividing the amount into twentieths, of which the Jefferson County Bank should have eight, the Black River, four, Hungerford’s, three, the Bank of Watertown, three, and Wooster Sherman’s two.

From The Story of the Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg RailRoad by Hungerford, Edward

At least nineteen twentieths of the exploits I confessed to you were pure lies.

From Man and Superman by Shaw, Bernard

An attempt was made to levy the twentieths on the various sorts of income.

From The Eve of the French Revolution by Lowell, Edward J. (Edward Jackson)

If the numerator is a multiple of 5, the fraction represents twentieths.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 5 "Arculf" to "Armour, Philip" by Various

A panic terror seized upon the weak, the credulous, and the guilty, who in those days formed more than nineteen twentieths of the population.

From Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions — Volume 2 by Mackay, Charles