twenty
numeralnouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈtwɛnti//
- United States//ˈtwɛnti/ [-ɛɾ̃i]/
- United States/[-ɛni]/
- United States//ˈtwɛni//
The cardinal number 20, occurring after nineteen and before twenty-one.
numeral
- 1
The cardinal number 20, occurring after nineteen and before twenty-one.
Etymology
From Middle English twenty, twenti, from Old English twēntiġ (“twenty”, literally “two tens”), from Proto-Germanic *twaintigiwiz, *twai tigiwiz, an old compound of *twain- (“two”) + *-tigaz (“group of ten”), equivalent to two + -ty, or twain + -ty. Cognate with Scots twenty, tuenty (“twenty”), West Frisian tweintich (“twenty”), Dutch twintig (“twenty”), German zwanzig (“twenty”), Danish tyve.
noun
- 1
The numbers twenty (20) to twenty-nine (29).
She looks like she's in her early twenties, perhaps 21 or 22 years old?
- 2
A banknote with a denomination of 20.
The waiter’s face lit up when I gave him a twenty.
Of course I can do them just the same as the others—technically there's nothing whatever against it. Only no one ever heard of soft flims for anything like that—only for fives or tens or at the most a twenty.
The more a shop looks as though it trades in farthings and ha’pennies, the more tenners and twenties you can expect to hand over at the till.
- 3
10-20 (location).
What’s your twenty, good buddy?
What's your twenty? Where's your brain? Checking in to check you out Concerned about your whereabouts
- 4
historicalAn old English division of infantry.
Forms
- plural
- twenties
twenty · The cardinal number 20, occurring after nineteen and before twenty-one.
Twenty · A hamlet in Bourne parish, South Kesteven district,…twenty-five · The cardinal number immediately following twenty-four and…twenty-four · The cardinal number immediately following twenty-three and…