fifty

American  

[fif-tee] / ˈfɪf ti /

noun

plural

fifties

1. a cardinal number, ten times five.

2. a symbol for this number, as 50 or L.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. fifties, the numbers, years, degrees, or the like, from 50 through 59, as in referring to numbered streets, indicating the years of a lifetime or of a century, or degrees of temperature.

   She lives in the East Fifties. He's in his late fifties. It's going to be in the fifties again today.

5. Informal. a fifty-dollar bill.

   He had a fifty and two tens in his wallet.

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adjective

1. amounting to 50 in number.

fifty British  

/ ˈfɪftɪ /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the product of ten and five

2. a numeral, 50, L, etc, representing this number

3. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 50 units

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to fifty

      fifty people

   2. ( as pronoun )

      fifty should be sufficient

Etymology

Origin of fifty

before 900; Middle English; Old English fīftig. See five, -ty ¹

Example Sentences

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t complain, I like to be in my thoughts, but who would have thought that at fifty, suddenly, it’s just me, my dog and our silence?

From Salon • May 9, 2026

The stock is up 20% so far in 2026, and remains very popular among analysts with fifty or so contributing recommendations and forecasts to FactSet, and all but one recommending either overweight or buy.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

When left-hander Kishan followed in raising his bat it was the first time the top three had reached fifty in a men's T20 World Cup.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

For about fifty years, scientists have puzzled over another related mystery.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2026

All anybody could talk about was T-shirts, but I agreed with Charlie, who said he wouldn’t be on the Fire Safety Team if you paid him, not even for fifty T-shirts.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson