twenty

noun

twen·​ty ˈtwen-tē  ˈtwən- 

plural twenties

1

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

2

twenties plural : the numbers 20 to 29

specifically : the years 20 to 29 in a lifetime or century

3

: a 20-dollar bill

twentieth

ˈtwen-tē-əth 

ˈtwən-

adjective or noun

twenty adjective

twenty pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of twenty in a Sentence

Tomorrow the temperature will be in the low twenties.

Recent Examples on the Web

Fun is the creation of three entrepreneurs in their early twenties: Noah Tweedale, Alon Cohen, and Dylan Kerler. —Joel Khalili, WIRED, 15 Jan. 2025

Almost all of them are from La Escuela Libre de Música from Puerto Rico: Julito, who’s the one who turned 19; the trombone and the trumpet player are [in their twenties]. —Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2025

Moving south from central Texas, temperatures start to rise into the twenties. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 2 Jan. 2025

This great novel, which Thomas Mann wrote in his early twenties, published in 1901, and got the Nobel Prize for Literature for, describes the fortunes of one family through four generations, between 1835 and around 1875. —The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from twenty, adjective, from Old English twēntig, noun, group of 20, from twēn- (akin to Old English twā two) + -tig group of 10; akin to Old English tīen ten — more at two, ten

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing twenty

• twenty-four hours a day
• twenty-fourmo
• twenty-four seven
• twenty-one
• twenty-twenty
• twenty-twenty hindsight
• twenty-twenty vision
• twenty-two

Kids Definition

twenty

noun

twen·​ty ˈtwent-ē 

plural twenties

: a number equal to two times 10 see number

twenty adjective or pronoun