thirteen

[ thur-teen ]

noun

1. a cardinal number, 10 plus 3.
2. a symbol for this number, as 13 or XIII.
3. a set of this many persons or things.

adjective

1. amounting to 13 in number.

thirteen

/ ˈθɜːˈtiːn /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and three and is a prime number See also number
2. a numeral, 13, XIII, etc, representing this number
3. the amount or quantity that is three more than ten; baker's dozen
4. something represented by, representing, or consisting of 13 units

determiner

1. 1. amounting to thirteen

      thirteen buses

   2. ( as pronoun )

      thirteen of them fell

Word History and Origins

Origin of thirteen¹

before 900; late Middle English thirttene, variant of Middle English thrittene, Old English thrēotēne; cognate with Dutch dertien, German dreizehn, Old Norse threttān. See three, -teen

Word History and Origins

Origin of thirteen¹

Old English threotēne; see three , -teen

Example Sentences

Only about twelve or thirteen minutes had passed since she left Judi, though adrenaline made it feel like hours.

From Time

She began her career as a model at the age of thirteen, modeling for Dolce & Gabbana and Dior.

From The Daily Beast

At thirteen years old, de Forest speaks with the confidence and the knowledge of someone much older.

From The Daily Beast

Last year, I went to India with my daughter who was thirteen at the time to meet some artisans.

From The Daily Beast

For him to get killed in action thirteen years after the war began.

From The Daily Beast

Thirteen years after 9/11, the World Trade Center is undergoing a massive transformation.

From The Daily Beast

Fatigue he never knew, and on one occasion he was said to have spent thirteen days and nights in the saddle.

From Project Gutenberg

Tombs had two horses shot under him, and thirteen out of fifty men in his battery were killed or wounded.

From Project Gutenberg

Congress declared the authority of England over the thirteen colonies abolished.

From Project Gutenberg

At the end of 1881 there were 93,776 children in the borough between the ages of three and thirteen.

From Project Gutenberg

Colonel Guitar reported his loss in the battle as thirteen killed and fifty-five wounded.

From Project Gutenberg

How Do You Spell 13?

Spelling tips for 13

The word thirteen (13) is hard to spell because it doesn’t simply combine the spelling of the base number (three) with the suffix -teen, as is done in other easy-to-remember spellings like fourteen and sixteen.  

How to spell thirteen: When three is combined with suffixes, it transforms from three (a cardinal number) to third (an ordinal number). Then, the d is dropped: thirteen (not thirdteen); thirty (not thirdty). Remember: there’s no d in thirteen.