# seventeenth

/ˈsɛvənˈtinθ/ (US) · /sˈɛvəntˌiːnθ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/seventeenth
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. position in a sequence

numeral · CEFR A2

coming after the sixteenth and before the eighteenth.

For teachers: the ordinal number matching the cardinal number seventeen, indicating a position in a sequence.

- She is celebrating her seventeenth birthday with a party this weekend.
- The seventeenth century was a period of significant scientific advancement and political upheaval across the European continent.

### 2. a fractional part

noun · CEFR B2

one of seventeen equal parts of a whole.

For teachers: one of seventeen equal parts into which a whole is or may be divided.

- Each person received one seventeenth of the total prize money.
- The mathematician calculated that a seventeenth of the total volume would be lost to evaporation during the heating process.

### 3. musical interval

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a very wide musical gap between two notes.

For teachers: a musical interval spanning two octaves and a third.

- The singer struggled to reach the high note at the end of the seventeenth.
- The composer utilised a seventeenth to create a sense of vast harmonic space between the bass line and the melody.

Usage: Usually refers to the interval of a compound third.

## Examples

- Today is the seventeenth of May.
- She finished in seventeenth place out of fifty runners in the local marathon.
- The seventeenth century was a period of significant scientific and philosophical transformation across the European continent.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.