fifty

American  

[fif-tee] / ˈfɪf ti /

noun

plural

fifties

1. a cardinal number, ten times five.

2. a symbol for this number, as 50 or L.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. fifties, the numbers, years, degrees, or the like, from 50 through 59, as in referring to numbered streets, indicating the years of a lifetime or of a century, or degrees of temperature.

   She lives in the East Fifties. He's in his late fifties. It's going to be in the fifties again today.

5. Informal. a fifty-dollar bill.

   He had a fifty and two tens in his wallet.

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adjective

1. amounting to 50 in number.

fifty British  

/ ˈfɪftɪ /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the product of ten and five

2. a numeral, 50, L, etc, representing this number

3. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 50 units

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to fifty

      fifty people

   2. ( as pronoun )

      fifty should be sufficient

Etymology

Origin of fifty

before 900; Middle English; Old English fīftig. See five, -ty ¹

Example Sentences

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t complain, I like to be in my thoughts, but who would have thought that at fifty, suddenly, it’s just me, my dog and our silence?

From Salon • May 9, 2026

She and co-author Daan Struyven point out that during any twelve-month period in the last fifty years or so when stocks and bonds delivered negative real returns, then gold and commodities delivered positive real returns.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026

For about fifty years, scientists have puzzled over another related mystery.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2026

He was dropped before the first match after a run of 10 T20s without a fifty but was recalled for the group-stage match against Namibia with Rinku Singh absent following the death of his father.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

His teacher had talked about an earthquake in Alaska, too, where parts of the ocean floor rose fifty feet.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret