ten

¹

[ ten ]

noun

1. a cardinal number, nine plus one.
2. a symbol for this number, as 10 or X.
3. a set of this many persons or things.
4. a playing card with ten pips.
5. Informal. a ten-dollar bill:

   She had two tens and a five in her purse.

6. Also called ten's place. Mathematics.
   1. (in a mixed number) the position of the second digit to the left of the decimal point.
   2. (in a whole number) the position of the second digit from the right.

adjective

1. amounting to ten in number.

ten.

²

abbreviation for

1. tenor.
2. Music. tenuto.

ten

¹

/ tɛn /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one. It is the base of the decimal number system and the base of the common logarithm See also number
2. a numeral, 10, X, etc, representing this number
3. something representing, represented by, or consisting of ten units, such as a playing card with ten symbols on it
4. Also calledten o'clock ten hours after noon or midnight

determiner

1. 1. amounting to ten

      ten tigers

   2. ( as pronoun )

      to sell only ten

ten-

²

combining_form

1. a variant of teno-

Word History and Origins

Origin of ten¹

before 900; Middle English ten ( e ), tenn ( e ), Old English tēn ( e ), tīen ( e ); cognate with Dutch tien, German zehn, Old Norse tīu, Gothic taihun, Latin decem, Greek déka, Sanskrit daśa

Word History and Origins

Origin of ten¹

Old English tēn; related to Old Saxon tehan, Old High German zehan, Gothic taihun, Latin decem, Greek deka, Sanskrit dasa

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. take ten, Informal. to rest from what one is doing, especially for ten minutes.

More idioms and phrases containing ten

see count to ten ; not touch with a ten-foot pole .

Example Sentences

Under the proposals, tenants may have to wait more than ten years to buy their homes and those living in newly built social homes may never be able to buy.

From BBC

Mr McDonnell warned tax rises announced in the Budget would add tens of millions of pounds to its costs in the coming year.

From BBC

These strategies include cool-off activities like drawing, counting to ten or deep breathing, thinking about something happy to keep calm, meditation or mindfulness or moving away from other people.

From Science Daily

Extending the bill would add an estimated $4 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years, the Congressional Budget Office estimated.

From Salon

In China, tens of millions more perished in a 1959-1961 famine caused in part by Mao Zedong’s embrace of Lysenko’s policies.

From Los Angeles Times