forty

noun

for·​ty ˈfȯr-tē 

plural forties

1

: a number equal to four times 10 see Table of Numbers

2

forties plural : the numbers 40 to 49

specifically : the years 40 to 49 in a lifetime or century

3

: the third point scored by a side in a game of tennis

4

or 40 US, informal : a forty-ounce bottle or other container of an alcoholic beverage (such as beer or malt liquor)

Kelvin finished his forty in seven or eight long gulps. Tossed the bottle in the median carpeted with brown grass.

—Dave Byrne

… smoking weed and drinking 40s while her kids run loose.

—Jim Schutze

fortieth

ˈfȯr-tē-əth 

adjective or noun

forty adjective

forty pronoun, plural in construction

fortyish

ˈfȯr-tē-ish 

adjective

Examples of forty in a Sentence

The temperature outside is in the high forties.

She is in her forties.

Recent Examples on the Web

For New York City, the light covering of snowfall received over the weekend is likely going to melt as temperatures climb into the upper thirties or forties. —Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024

Add to that my uncanny ability to only fall for guys who wouldn’t or couldn’t love me back, and well, my twenties, thirties, and forties were a blur. —Essence, 17 Dec. 2024

Having only just entered his forties, the author, BBC radio presenter, and prolific freelance journalist was already beginning to feel the effects of the tuberculosis that would eventually kill him. —Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 15 Nov. 2024

That an artist in his forties would be thinking about his legacy seemed a bit startling, but Johnson, who sometimes struck me as being egoless, understands his own significance. —Calvin Tomkins, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fourty, adjective, from Old English fēowertig, from fēowertig group of 40, from fēower four + -tig group of 10; akin to Old English tīen ten

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing forty

• forty-five
• forty-niner
• forty winks

Kids Definition

forty

noun

for·​ty ˈfȯrt-ē 

plural forties

: a number equal to four times 10 see number

fortieth

-ē-əth 

adjective or noun

forty adjective or pronoun

fortyish

-ē-ish 

adjective