noun
Common
tens
Tens (noun) means a vague large quantity, roughly between ten and a hundred. Example: “Tens of people queued outside the shop before it opened.”
noun
1
A vague large quantity, roughly between ten and a hundred.
"Tens of people queued outside the shop before it opened."
"There were tens of birds sitting on the wires this morning."
"Tens of thousands of fans packed the stadium."
2
The decade running from a year ending in 10 to one ending in 19.
"Many of the songs from the tens still sound fresh today."
"Smartphones became part of daily life during the tens."
"Fashion in the tens looked very different from the roaring twenties."
How to use tens
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA rough "lots of" quantity, or the decade of the 10s (like the 2010s).
Common pairings
tens of thousands
tens of millions
Vocabulary Flow
Build your vocabulary from words like tens.
Vocabulary Flow serves the next word, and the next — meaning, pronunciation and an example each time. Practice at your level, or learn English in your own language.
Start vocabulary practice
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
_____ of people queued outside the shop before it opened.
Synonyms
View more →Related words
Rhymes for tens
See all rhymes for tens →Frequently asked questions
What does “tens” mean?
The word “tens” means a vague large quantity, roughly between ten and a hundred. In plain terms, a rough "lots of" quantity, or the decade of the 10s (like the 2010s).
How do you use “tens” in a sentence?
Here is “tens” used in a sentence: “Tens of thousands of fans packed the stadium.”
What part of speech is “tens”?
“Tens” is a noun.
Is “tens” a common word?
“Tens” is a fairly common word in modern English.
How many meanings does “tens” have?
“Tens” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a vague large quantity, roughly between ten and a hundred.
What is the difference between 'tens' and 'dozens'?
Both describe vague, fairly large quantities. 'Tens' is built on groups of ten and suggests a figure somewhere between ten and a hundred, while 'dozens' is built on groups of twelve and tends to suggest a similar informal count.
What is the difference between the 'tens' and the 'units' in a number?
In place value, the 'units' (or 'ones') column shows single digits, while the 'tens' column shows how many groups of ten a number contains. In 47, for example, the 4 is in the tens place and the 7 is in the units place.
What decade is meant by 'the tens'?
'The tens' can refer to the years of a century running from the one ending in 10 to the one ending in 19, for instance 2010 to 2019. It is a less common label than names like 'the twenties' or 'the nineties.'
