Word
sixty
Phoneticssix·ty
US/ˈsɪksti/
UK/sˈɪksti/
Definitions
01the number 60
num. the number 60.
num. the cardinal number occurring after fifty-nine and before sixty-one.
“There are sixty minutes in one hour.”
“The speed limit on this stretch of the motorway is sixty miles per hour, though many drivers frequently exceed it.”
Usage
functions as a determiner or a noun.
Pitfall
There are sixty of people in the room.
There are sixty people in the room.
Do not use 'of' between a specific number and the noun it describes.
02the decade
n. the years between 60 and 69 in a century.
n. the decade of a person's life or a century, specifically the years ending in 60 through 69.
“My grandfather is in his late sixty — he will be seventy next year.”
“The cultural revolution of the nineteen-sixties fundamentally altered the social landscape of Western Europe.”
Usage
usually pluralized as 'the sixties' when referring to a decade.
Teaching tip
When referring to the decade of the 1960s, it is almost always used in the plural form 'the sixties'.
Synonyms
03a 60-second advertisement
n. a television or radio advertisement that lasts for one minute.
n. a commercial broadcast lasting exactly sixty seconds.
“The company paid a lot of money for a sixty during the big game.”
“The agency produced a series of thirties and a single sixty to anchor the national television campaign.”
Technical
Usage
primarily used within the advertising and broadcasting industries.
Teaching tip
This is highly specialized jargon; most learners will simply say 'a one-minute commercial'.
Synonyms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English sixty, sexty, Old English sixtiġ, from Proto-Germanic *sehs tigiwiz (“sixty”), equivalent to six + -ty. Cognate with Scots sexty, saxty (“sixty”), Saterland Frisian säkstich (“sixty”), West Frisian sechstich (“sixty”), Dutch zestig (“sixty”), German Low German sesstig (“sixty”), German sechzig (“sixty”), Swedish sextio (“sixty”), Norwegian seksti (“sixty”), Icelandic sextíu (“sixty”). Compare also Sanskrit षष्टि (ṣaṣṭi).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/sixty