ninety

noun

nine·​ty ˈnīn-tē 

plural nineties

1

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

2

nineties plural : the numbers 90 to 99

specifically : the years 90 to 99 in a lifetime or century

She's in her nineties.

ninetieth

ˈnīn-tē-əth 

adjective or noun

ninety adjective

ninety pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of ninety in a Sentence

During the nineties, he was going to college and working part-time.

Recent Examples on the Web

By the nineties, levels of individualism and persistence in the North and South were completely different. —Sofia Shchukina, NPR, 3 Sep. 2024

When Leto arrived at the shop, driving a white nineties Ford Explorer (Eddie Bauer edition), the temperature was ticking toward triple digits. —Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024

And then in the nineties there was this multiracial movement. —Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2024

Wiles likens this scenario to Big Tobacco’s coverup of rising cancer cases in smokers in the eighties and nineties. —Kristin Hostetter, Outside Online, 31 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ninety, adjective, from Old English nigontig, short for hundnigontig, from hundnigontig, noun, group of 90, from hund-, literally, hundred + nigon nine + -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 ninety

• ninety-nine times out of a hundred
• ninety/ninety-nine percent of the time

Kids Definition

ninety

noun

nine·​ty ˈnīnt-ē 

plural nineties

1

: a number equal to nine times 10 see number

2

plural : the numbers 90 to 99 and specifically the years 90 to 99 in a lifetime or century

ninetieth

-ē-əth 

adjective or noun

ninety adjective or pronoun