fifty

American  

[fif-tee] / ˈfɪf ti /

noun

fifties plural

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fifties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fifty

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

Example Sentences

It would have been "virtually impossible" for such exceptional temperatures to occur in June fifty years ago, the World Weather Attribution group of scientists said.

From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026

He’s never bought an item of clothing over fifty dollars.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

The “divisive matter of race,” the authors write, “which the founding fathers had tried to sidestep, would emerge as the seminal issue during the next fifty years.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

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

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

I’m trying to think back to the first call I received fifty hours ago.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse