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

With the Cup Series off for Easter, the two lower series will hit one of NASCAR's oldest tracks, marking a return to NASCAR after a decade for The Rock. —Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Apr. 2025

Reporter Steven Levy profiled its inventor in his Palo Alto office a decade ago, when AeroPress mania was first reaching fever pitch. —Matthew Korfhage, Wired News, 19 Apr. 2025

Perhaps Katy Perry’s next hit won’t just be about her personal journey to the edge of space, but about the far more dramatic race unfolding below — a high-stakes competition that could reshape humanity’s relationship with the cosmos for decades to come. —Jackie Snow, Quartz, 19 Apr. 2025

Your contributions have allowed Wicker Park Fest to come back each year and stand as a pillar in Chicago for more than two decades. —Pamela Maass, Chicago Tribune, 18 Apr. 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