seventeen

American  

[sev-uhn-teen] / ˈsɛv ənˈtin /

noun

1. a cardinal number, 10 plus 7.

2. a symbol for this number, as 17 or XVII.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

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adjective

1. amounting to 17 in number.

2. (initial capital letter, italics) a novel (1916) by Booth Tarkington.

seventeen British  

/ ˈsɛvənˈtiːn /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and seven and is a prime number See also number

2. a numeral, 17, XVII, etc, representing this number

3. the amount or quantity that is seven more than ten

4. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 17 units

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to seventeen

      seventeen attempts

   2. ( as pronoun )

      seventeen were sold

Etymology

Origin of seventeen

before 900; Middle English seventene, Old English seofontēne (cognate with Dutch zeventien, German siebzehn ). See seven, -teen

Example Sentences

When the young black poet Amanda Gorman became an international success after reading her poem “The Hill We Climb” at Biden’s inauguration, seventeen publishers quickly bought the rights.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 2, 2025

His network's assets include a £100m office building on central London, a £12m mansion in North London and seventeen flats in the city, said the UK foreign office on Tuesday.

From BBC • Oct. 14, 2025

As of April 2024, seventeen states and the District of Columbia have adopted the compact, jurisdictions that comprise 209 electoral votes.

From Salon • Sep. 30, 2024

Twelve out of seventeen cartilaginous fish genomes studied contained genes for the taste receptors type 2, with only one T2R gene present in each species.

From Science Daily • Nov. 13, 2023

He wouldn’t go over seventeen years without so much as a phone call, and if he died, he’d have the decency to do it somewhere where he could be found.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny