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

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

2. the twentieth member of a series.

ˈtwentieth 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 )

Etymology

Origin of twentieth

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

Example Sentences

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

It now files three-quarters of all clean tech patents, versus a twentieth at the start of the century.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2025

However difficult life may have been for the early miners, by the second half of the twentieth century Centralia was a reasonably prosperous, snug, hardworking town with a population approaching 2,000.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson