fourth

noun

ˈfȯrth 

plural fourths ˈfȯr(th)s 

1

: one that is number four in a series

I was the fourth to arrive.

They arrive on the fourth. [=the fourth day of the month]

see Table of Numbers

2

: one of four equal parts of something : quarter entry 1

Cut the cake into fourths.

a fourth of the population

3

a

: a musical interval (see interval sense 2) embracing four tones of the diatonic scale

b

: a tone at this interval

specifically : subdominant sense 1

c

: the harmonic combination of two tones a fourth apart

4

: the fourth forward gear or speed of a motor vehicle

shifted into fourth

5

the Fourth : July 4 observed as a legal holiday in the U.S. in commemoration of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 : Fourth of July

watched fireworks on the Fourth

called also Independence Day

fourth adjective or adverb

the fourth edition of a book

the fourth tallest mountain

fourthly adverb

Fourthly, don't sing a whole opera through …

—Mark Twain

Examples of fourth in a Sentence

cut the cake into fourths

She drank a fourth of the bottle.

Recent Examples on the Web

The problem was that the group barely had energy to keep the fight going in the fourth. —Jovan Buha, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025

Braun, who was otherwise spectacular, shot 1 for 5 in the fourth. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2025

After Holiday fueled a stellar third quarter for Boston with his timely scoring and stingy defense on Orlando stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, White and Pritchard essentially put the game away early in the fourth. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 21 Apr. 2025

While the Yankees made two errors in the game, a pickoff play between Fried and Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base erased a two-base mistake from Oswaldo Cabrera in the fourth. —Gary Phillips, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see four

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing fourth

• a poor second/third/fourth
• fourth dimension
• fourth estate
• fourth trimester
• fourth wall
• fourth world
• sixty-fourth note
• sixty-fourth rest

Rhymes for fourth

• henceforth
• thenceforth

Kids Definition

fourth

noun

ˈfō(ə)rth 

ˈfȯ(ə)rth

1

: one that is number four in a series see number

2

: the difference in pitch between the first tone and the fourth tone of a scale

fourth adjective or adverb

fourthly adverb