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.

---

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

---

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

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

Buttler has not scored a 50-over fifty since February 2023.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Two hundred fifty years ago, the “truths” Thomas Jefferson laid out in the Declaration of Independence were not yet “self-evident,” as Elaine Pagels pointed out in a recent essay.

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026

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

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2026

His teacher had talked about an earthquake in Alaska, too, where parts of the ocean floor rose fifty feet.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret