fifteenth

IPA/ˌfɪfˈtiːnθ/
KK[fɪftˈinθ]IPA/ˌfɪfˈtiːnθ/

fifteenth — adjective

  • fifteenthpositive
  • more fifteenthcomparative
  • most fifteenthsuperlative

1. coming directly after the fourteenth in a sequence of people, items, days, or ev

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

coming directly after the fourteenth in a sequence of people, items, days, or events — for example, a person's fifteenth birthday, the fifteenth page of a book, or a fifteenth-century building.

Example

Tendai celebrated her fifteenth birthday with a barbecue in the garden.

attributive use: fifteenth + birthday

The fifteenth chapter of the novel reveals why the detective left the police force.

Common collocations
  • fifteenth birthday
  • fifteenth century
  • fifteenth floor
  • fifteenth anniversary
  • fifteenth place
  • fifteenth attempt

Grammar Patterns

the fifteenth + noun

fifteenth + noun (without 'the' in certain contexts)

Usage Note

Fifteenth is used before a noun to show the position of something in an ordered list. When referring to dates, it is common to say 'the fifteenth of May' or 'May fifteenth' without a capital F.

Common Mistakes

This is the fifteen time I have told you.
This is the fifteenth time I have told you.
Ordinal numbers like fifteenth show rank or position; cardinal numbers like fifteen show quantity only.

fifteenth — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Fifteenth (adjective/determiner) marks an item's position in an ordered series as number 15, used before a noun: 'the fifteenth floor'. Fifteen is the cardinal number (quantity), not a rank: 'fifteen floors' means the building has that many, not which one. Fifteenthly is a rare adverb used to introduce the 15th point in a list ('Fifteenthly, we need to check the budget.') but is very formal and seldom used in everyday speech. For dates, both 'the fifteenth of June' and 'June fifteenth' are natural; 'June fifteen' is informal but common in American English.

fifteenth ↗fifteenthlyfifteen ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • fifteenth day
  • fifteenth century
  • fifteenth floor
  • fifteenth anniversary

Phrases

  • the fifteenth of May
  • May fifteenth
  • one fifteenth of

Prepositions

  • on the fifteenth (of the month)
  • by the fifteenth

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Fifteenth comes from Old English fīftēoða, which was formed from fīf ('five') and tēoða ('tenth'). The modern spelling was shaped by the cardinal number fifteen, which replaced the older form fiftene. The '-th' suffix marks ordinals in modern English (as in sixth, seventh, eighth). The word has been in use since before the 12th century.