ENGLISH
REFERENCE

eighteen

n.
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈeɪˈtin// UK //eɪtˈiːn// eigh·teen General-service

n. the number that comes after seventeen and before nineteen. It is the age when people in many countries are legally considered adults.

n. the cardinal number equivalent to the sum of ten and eight. Often used as a noun to refer to a set of this many units or the age of majority.


SIMPLE

There are eighteen students in my English class.

CONTEXTUAL

You must be eighteen years old to vote in the national election this November.

COMPLEX

The historical archive contains eighteen volumes of handwritten letters that document the daily lives of the city's early settlers during the industrial revolution.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English eightetene, eiȝtene, ehtetene, from Old English eahtatīene, eahtatēne, from Proto-Germanic *ahtōutehun. Cognate with West Frisian achttjin, Dutch achttien, German achtzehn, Danish atten. Equivalent to eight + -teen

Usage

Functions as both a determiner before a noun and as a noun in its own right.

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