plural tens
1
: a number that is one more than nine see Table of Numbers
2
: the 10th in a set or series
wears a ten
3
: something having 10 units or members
4
: a 10-dollar bill
5
: one deserving the highest rating
specifically : an exceptionally attractive person
ten adjective
ten pronoun, plural in construction

see also take ten

Examples of ten in a Sentence

“What time is it” “It's ten.” promised me that she would fix me up with a ten
Recent Examples on the Web The votes against Biden can be seen as manifestations of policy disagreements, many of them over America’s support of Israel in its war in Gaza, which has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and led South Africa to file a genocide charge at the International Criminal Court, Beck said. Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 Fan videos captured Kelce passionately dancing to the pop star’s Reputation lead single with his friends and tens of thousands of other Swifties at National Stadium, rocking from side to side while singing along to the lyrics. Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 8 Mar. 2024 According to the airline, those using the Digital ID for bag drops are seeing 75% faster transactions—averaging about 30 seconds—based on tens of thousands of uses. Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Mar. 2024 The chaos has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes in the past few days, adding to the more than 300,000 already displaced by gang violence. Caitlin Hu, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 In fact my policies have attracted $650 Billion of private sector investments in clean energy and advanced manufacturing creating tens of thousands of jobs here in America! USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2024 That’s very exciting in terms of eyeballs and pedestrian traffic and tens of thousands of hotel rooms right around it. Kirk Kern, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 Estimates put the number of Sikh deaths as high as tens of thousands, leading some to describe the violence as a genocide. Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 The convention will take place downtown from July 15-18 and is expected to bring tens of thousands of people to the city. Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, going back to Old English tīen (West Saxon), tēn, going back to Germanic *tehun (whence also Old Frisian tiān, tiēn "ten," Old Saxon tehan, Old High German zehan, Old Norse tíu, Gothic taihun), going back to Indo-European *deḱm̥, whence also Old Irish deich "ten," Welsh deg, Latin decem, Old Church Slavic desętĭ, Lithuanian dẽšimt, Albanian dhjetë, Greek déka, Armenian tasn, Tocharian A śäk, Tocharian B śak, Avestan dasa, Sanskrit daśa

Note: The Slavic, Baltic, and perhaps Albanian forms are derived from the ordinal base *deḱm̥-t-.

First Known Use

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of ten was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near ten

Cite this Entry

“Ten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ten. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ten

noun
1
: a number that is one more than nine see number
2
: the tenth in a set or series
the ten of hearts
3
: something having ten units or members
4
: a 10-dollar bill
ten adjective or pronoun

Medical Definition

TEN

abbreviation

More from Merriam-Webster on ten

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