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 phenomenon is likely to continue and become much worse in the coming decades, according to CoreLogic, making flooding the biggest risk facing California homeowners. —Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025

Image First opened at the end of World War II, Heathrow has been expanded and updated over the decades. —Michael D. Shear, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025

When that fight finally came to its end for my uncle, he was surrounded by his six kids and his wife of three decades, the actress Glenda Chism-Tamblyn. —Amber Tamblyn, Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2025

Wilson Hunt has spent the better part of two decades as an entertainment journalist covering Hollywood. —Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 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

Rhymes for decade

• afraid
• allayed
• arcade
• arrayed
• assayed
• barmaid
• betrayed
• blockade
• bridesmaid
• brigade
• brocade
• buffeted

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