ENGLISH
REFERENCE

eighth

n.
A2 Elementary US //ˈeɪtθ// UK //ˈeɪtθ// eighth Slang

n. the position of number eight in a series. You use it when something comes after the seventh item and before the ninth.

n. the ordinal number corresponding to the cardinal number eight. Functions as both a determiner and a noun in most syntactic contexts.


SIMPLE

He finished in eighth place in the race.

CONTEXTUAL

The eighth chapter of the book provides a detailed summary of the main characters' motivations.

COMPLEX

By the eighth day of the expedition, the team had exhausted their primary supplies and were forced to rely on the emergency rations they had cached earlier.

Origin

Inherited from Middle English eightethe, from Old English eahtoþa, from Proto-Germanic *ahtudô; equivalent to eight + -th (ordinal suffix).

Usage

Commonly used as an ordinal number; when used as a noun to mean a fraction, it is countable.

Pitfall

eighttheighthThe spelling is irregular; the 't' from 'eight' and the 'th' suffix merge into a single 'th'.

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