forty

IPA/ˈfɔː.ti/

KK[fˈɔrti]IPA/ˈfɔːr.t̬i/

1.numberA1

Definition

used to say that there are 40 people or things, or that an amount, age, time, score, or measurement is 40

Example

Mayumi counted forty blue tiles before the pattern repeated on the wall.

forty + plural noun for counting

The bus left with forty passengers just before the heavy rain started.

Common collocations

forty people
forty years old
forty minutes
forty degrees
forty dollars
forty passengers

Common Mistakes

My aunt is forty years.

My aunt is forty years old.

For age, add 'old' or simply say 'My aunt is forty.'

1.nounA1

Definition

the number 40 when you mention it as a figure, page, size, or other value instead of using it to count things

Example

Forty is printed in red on the classroom number chart above the board.

forty used as a noun subject

Write the number forty beside the answer that matches the picture.

Common collocations

number forty
page forty
size forty
room forty

Usage Note

This noun use often appears after words like number, page, size, room, or channel. When you are directly counting people or things, use the number sense instead: 'forty students,' not 'a forty students.'

Common Mistakes

We bought forty of chairs.

We bought forty chairs.

When counting things, use forty before the noun instead of as a separate noun.

2.nounA2

Definition

the years or ages from 40 to 49, especially in phrases about a person's age or a decade in a century

Example

Shirin is in her forties and has just opened her first bakery.

in + possessive + forties for age range

Faisal spent his early forties caring for his parents in Ankara.

early forties for a narrower age range

Common collocations

in her forties
early forties
mid forties
late forties
the nineteen forties
low forties

Grammar Patterns

in + possessive + forties

the + nineteen + forties

low + forties

Usage Note

For age, use the plural form with a possessive determiner: 'in her forties.' For decades and temperature ranges, use 'the forties' or modifiers like 'early,' 'mid,' 'late,' and 'low' without a possessive.

Common Mistakes

She is in her forty.

She is in her forties.

Age ranges use the plural form with a possessive determiner.

He is forty's old.

He is forty years old.

Use exact age with 'forty,' not the plural noun 'forties.'

3.nounB2

Definition

the score of three points in a tennis game, one point from winning that game unless the score becomes tied

Example

After Élise served an ace, the scoreboard changed from thirty-all to forty.

reach forty in tennis scoring

The crowd grew quiet when Elena saved two break points to reach forty.

Common collocations

reach forty
forty-love
forty-thirty
forty-all

Grammar Patterns

reach + forty

forty-love / forty-thirty / forty-all

Usage Note

Used only in tennis scoring, often in fixed expressions such as 'forty-love,' 'forty-thirty,' and 'forty-all.' Once both sides reach forty, the score goes back to deuce instead of ending immediately.

Common Mistakes

The score was four-thirty.

The score was forty-thirty.

Tennis uses the special score words fifteen, thirty, and forty.

4.nounC1

Definition

a bottle or can holding forty ounces of beer or a similar alcoholic drink

Example

Eitan bought a forty at the corner shop before the baseball game.

buy a forty as an informal noun

The empty forties beside the bench showed where the group had been sitting.

Common collocations

buy a forty
drink a forty
empty forties
cold forty

Synonyms

forty-ounce bottle
the full, more explicit term

Grammar Patterns

buy + a forty

drink + a forty

Usage Note

This informal American noun is short for a forty-ounce bottle or can, usually of beer or malt liquor. It is common in casual speech, but the full form is clearer in formal writing.

Common Mistakes

He bought a forty ounces beer.

He bought a forty-ounce beer.

Use 'forty-ounce' before a noun, or use 'a forty' as the standalone informal noun.

Word family

fortieth
adjectiveA2
fortieth
nounA2
forty-something
nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

Thirties, forties, fifties, and sixties all name ten-year ranges. 'Forties' most often means ages 40 to 49, especially in phrases like 'in her forties.' It can also mean the years 40 to 49 in a century, often made clearer as 'the nineteen forties.' 'Thirties' points to the earlier range, while 'fifties' and 'sixties' refer to later ones. Words such as 'early,' 'mid,' and 'late' narrow the age band. Use the plural form when you mean the range; if you mean the exact number 40, use 'forty' instead of 'forties.'

thirtiesfortiesfiftiessixties

Common collocations

Nouns

number forty
page forty
forty degrees
forty-ounce bottle

Phrases

the nineteen forties
early forties
mid forties
late forties

Prepositions

in one's forties
by forty
over forty
under forty

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Forty was formed in Old English from the word for 'four' plus a suffix meaning 'group of ten'. The original sense was 'four tens', and that basic meaning has stayed the same in modern English. The spelling later settled as 'forty', even though the related word 'four' still keeps the letter 'u'.

First known use

12th century

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Entries near

Previous entries

Next entries

forty

forty — number

1. used to say that there are 40 people or things, or that an amount, age, time, sc

Common Mistakes

forty — noun

1. the number 40 when you mention it as a figure, page, size, or other value instea

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. the years or ages from 40 to 49, especially in phrases about a person's age or a

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

3. the score of three points in a tennis game, one point from winning that game unl

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

4. a bottle or can holding forty ounces of beer or a similar alcoholic drink

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

Word family

Synonym discussion

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

Entries near

Entries near