decade

noun

de·​cade ˈde-ˌkād 

de-ˈkād;

 especially sense 1b  ˈde-kəd

1

: a group or set of 10

his prisoners were divided into decades

—William Godwin

: such as

a

: a period of 10 years

has been teaching for over a decade

the decade of the twenties

b

Roman Catholicism : a division of the rosary that consists primarily of 10 Hail Marys

2

mathematics : a ratio of 10 to 1 : order of magnitude

decadal

ˈde-kə-dᵊl 

adjective

Examples of decade in a Sentence

The war lasted nearly a decade.

The bridge was built a decade ago.

The decade of the 1920s runs from January 1, 1920 to December 31, 1929.

the first decade of the 21st century

There have been a lot of changes during the past two decades.

Recent Examples on the Web

The only years worse in the past two decades were at the start of COVID-19 (2019-20) and on the heels of the financial crisis (2009-10). —Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 18 Feb. 2025

The Spartans’ lone conference championship in the past four decades (2011) was vacated for NCAA violations. —Matt Baker, The Athletic, 18 Feb. 2025

Over the past few decades, American food reporters and bloggers have often written about the French frozen-food emporium Picard with an air of scandal. —Meghan McCarron, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2025

Swartz wrote that in 2024, the company’s B2B businesses accounted for 50 percent of the company’s profits, up from 15 percent a decade ago. —Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French décade, from Late Latin decad-, decas, from Greek dekad-, dekas, from deka — see deca-

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing decade

• decade-long

Kids Definition

decade

noun

de·​cade ˈdek-ˌād 

-əd;

de-ˈkād;

 sense 3 is usually  ˈdek-əd

1

: a group or set of 10

2

: a period of 10 years

3

: a part of the rosary made up mainly of 10 Hail Marys