sixty
SIHKS-tee
Sixty (num) means the number after fifty-nine and before sixty-one; 60. Example: “My grandmother celebrated her sixtieth birthday, and sixty candles filled the cake.”
num
1
The number after fifty-nine and before sixty-one; 60.
"My grandmother celebrated her sixtieth birthday, and sixty candles filled the cake."
"There are sixty minutes in an hour, so the lesson felt long."
"The first sixty argam form the basis for my own sexagesimal use, in the accounting of my business and in the dimensioning of buildings."
— Michael Thomas De Vlieger, Multiplication Tables of Various Bases (2014)
"The speed limit here is sixty miles per hour."
How to use sixty
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe number 60.
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Word forms
- Plural
- sixties
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
My grandmother celebrated her sixtieth birthday, and _____ candles filled the cake.
Etymology
From Old English sixtig, from "six" plus the suffix "-ty."
Synonyms
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threescore
Frequently asked questions
What does “sixty” mean?
The word “sixty” means the number after fifty-nine and before sixty-one; 60. In plain terms, the number 60.
How do you pronounce “sixty”?
“Sixty” is pronounced SIHKS-tee (/ˈsɪksti/ in IPA).
How do you use “sixty” in a sentence?
Here is “sixty” used in a sentence: “The speed limit here is sixty miles per hour.”
What part of speech is “sixty”?
“Sixty” is a num.
Where does the word “sixty” come from?
The word “sixty” comes from Old English. From Old English sixtig, from "six" plus the suffix "-ty.".
Is “sixty” a common word?
“Sixty” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.
What is the difference between sixty and sixteen?
Sixty is the number 60, while sixteen is the number 16. They are easily confused in speech, but sixty ends in -ty and means six tens, whereas sixteen ends in -teen and means six plus ten.
What is the ordinal form of sixty?
The ordinal form of sixty is "sixtieth," used to show position or order, as in a sixtieth birthday. Note that the final y changes to ie before adding -th.
When should you write 'sixty' as a word instead of '60'?
Many style guides recommend spelling out "sixty" at the start of a sentence and in formal prose, while using the numeral 60 for measurements, ages, and technical writing. Being consistent within a single document matters more than the exact rule you choose.
How do you hyphenate sixty in larger numbers?
Compound numbers from sixty-one through sixty-nine are written with a hyphen. The word sixty on its own, and round hundreds like sixty thousand, do not take that hyphen.
