ENGLISH
REFERENCE

fifteen

n.
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈfɪfˈtin// UK //fɪftˈiːn// fif·teen General-service

n. the number that comes after fourteen and before sixteen.

n. the cardinal number equivalent to the sum of ten and five.


SIMPLE

There are fifteen students in the classroom today.

CONTEXTUAL

The train leaves in fifteen minutes, so we should start walking to the station now.

COMPLEX

The survey indicates that fifteen percent of the population remains undecided about the new policy, representing a significant portion of the electorate.

Origin

PIE word *pénkʷe From Middle English fiftene, from Old English fīftīene, fīftēne, from Proto-Germanic *fimftehun. Cognate with West Frisian fyftjin, Dutch vijftien, German fünfzehn, Danish femten. Equivalent to five + -teen.

Usage

Functions as both a noun and a determiner depending on the syntactic context.

Pitfall

fiveteenfifteenLearners often mistakenly use 'five' as the root instead of the irregular 'fif-' form used for 15 and 50.

© 2026 English Reference