thirteen

[ thur-teen ]

noun

1. a cardinal number, 10 plus 3.
2. a symbol for this number, as 13 or XIII.
3. a set of this many persons or things.

adjective

1. amounting to 13 in number.

thirteen

/ ˈθɜːˈtiːn /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and three and is a prime number See also number
2. a numeral, 13, XIII, etc, representing this number
3. the amount or quantity that is three more than ten; baker's dozen
4. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 13 units

determiner

1. 1. amounting to thirteen

      thirteen buses

   2. ( as pronoun )

      thirteen of them fell

Word History and Origins

Origin of thirteen¹

before 900; late Middle English thirttene, variant of Middle English thrittene, Old English thrēotēne; cognate with Dutch dertien, German dreizehn, Old Norse threttān. See three, -teen

Word History and Origins

Origin of thirteen¹

Old English threotēne; see three , -teen

Example Sentences

Democrats need to take a long, hard look at that staggering arithmetic: Thirteen million Biden voters either switched to Trump or, in more cases than not, simply couldn’t be bothered.

From Salon

Thirteen players contributed to Vancouver’s 52 regular-season goals this season but just two of them have scored in double digits.

From Los Angeles Times

Through archival footage, Brown recounts seeing his mother suffer physical abuse from his stepfather, recalling that from ages seven to thirteen, he was “visually abused” by these traumatic scenes, often too scared to intervene.

From Salon

Thirteen people died, hundreds were made homeless after their overcrowded, tightly-packed buildings were destroyed.

From BBC

Thirteen years passed between his first and second ablations, and the second was 12 years ago.

From Los Angeles Times