sixty

noun

six·​ty ˈsiks-tē 

plural sixties

1

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

2

sixties plural : the numbers 60 to 69

specifically : the years 60 to 69 in a lifetime or century

sixtieth

ˈsiks-tē-əth 

adjective or noun

sixty adjective

sixty pronoun, plural in construction

sixtyish

ˈsiks-tē-ish 

adjective

Examples of sixty in a Sentence

He retired when he was in his sixties.

Recent Examples on the Web

Several images show Bahraini men dressed as cowboys—a subculture that formed in part when graduates in the late sixties and seventies who attended colleges in Texas, where their exposure to Clint Eastwood and rodeo culture overlapped with an existing love of horses, returned home. —M. Z. Adnan, The New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2024

For our introductory meeting, our jovial group leader Jan Curl — a longtime fitness instructor in her early sixties who went from being a Run Wild participant to guiding retreats — gathered all 12 of us in a circle and invited us to share the desires and fears that had brought us on this trip. —Alexandra Kleeman, Travel + Leisure, 17 Oct. 2024

Since the sixties, Pickford explained, divers had been searching for the wreck off the wrong sandbank. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024

The caverns, open to the public since the sixties, continue to be explored. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from sixty, adjective, from Old English siextig, noun, group of sixty, from siex six + -tig group of ten; akin to Old English tīen ten

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing sixty

• sixty-fourth note
• sixty-fourth rest
• sixty-nine

Kids Definition

sixty

noun

six·​ty ˈsik-stē 

plural sixties

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

sixtieth

-stē-əth 

adjective or noun

sixty adjective or pronoun