eighty

noun

ˈā-tē 

plural eighties

1

: a number that is equal to eight times 10 see Table of Numbers

2

eighties plural : the numbers 80 to 89

specifically : the years 80 to 89 in a lifetime or century

eightieth

ˈā-tē-əth 

adjective or noun

eighty adjective

eighty pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of eighty in a Sentence

The temperature rose to the high eighties.

She is in her mid-eighties.

Recent Examples on the Web

The sitting President, in his eighties and visibly declining, had to be pressured into leaving the ticket; the Party no longer offers a signature policy at the scale of Obamacare or even a Green New Deal. —The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024

The book also explains how trade between Ireland and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) has reportedly gone from almost nothing in the early eighties to €5.3 billion in 2021. —Kevin Rozario, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024

Lewis, who even in his late eighties never shook the habit of working from the office, had asked me to grab him lunch. —Christopher Carroll, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024

Fethullah Gülen was in his eighties and had long been in ill health. —CBS News, 21 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English eighty, adjective, from Old English eahtatig, short for hundeahtatig, noun, group of eighty, from hund-, literally, hundred + eahta eight + -tig group of ten; akin to Old English tīen ten

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing eighty

• eighty-six
• ten-eighty

Kids Definition

eighty

noun

ˈāt-ē 

plural eighties

: a number that is equal to eight times 10 see number

eightieth

-ē-əth 

adjective or noun

eighty adjective or pronoun