twenty

American  

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

noun

• twenties
  plural

1. a cardinal number, 10 times 2.

2. a symbol for this number, as 20 or XX.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. Informal. a twenty-dollar bill.

   Can you give me two tens for a twenty?

5. 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.

6. Slang. Also 20 location; ten-twenty.

   What’s your twenty?

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adjective

1. amounting to 20 in number.

twenty British  

/ ˈtwɛntɪ /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the product of ten and two; a score See also number

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

3. something representing, represented by, or consisting of 20 units

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to twenty

      twenty questions

   2. ( as pronoun )

      to order twenty

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• twenties
  plural

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Etymology

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

twenty twenties

“A hundred twenty years ago, people all lived together — for good or bad,” she added.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

In November last year, the girlfriend of the alleged ringleader, Jesús "El Kekas" Gerardo, was sentenced in a separate trial to twenty years in prison.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

To test the idea, the researchers examined twenty tidal disruption events using observations in optical light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, and radio waves.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

But it might also be dinner for an exhausted parent who wants twenty minutes back and misses what the inside of a restaurant tastes like.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

Of the twenty other people at Edmonds’s séance, an unnamed man wrote about his experience as an attendee that same night.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

With a budget of $70, Trinyce and Ijeoma, two women in their twenties, said they were trying to find something to decorate their apartment.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Eight of the 11 people convicted for their involvement last month were in their twenties.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

“I’ve spent my entire twenties sitting across from the most incredible people, people I’d always dreamt of meeting,” she wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Sunday will be a warmer day across many areas with temperatures widely getting up to the mid to high twenties Celsius.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

While she was probably in her early twenties, she acted in every other respect like a very small child.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

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