Definition of ten in English:

cardinal number

• 1Equivalent to the product of five and two; one more than nine; 10.

  ‘the last ten years’

  ‘the house comfortably sleeps ten’

  ‘a ten-foot shrub’

  More example sentences

  • ‘I looked at him impassively for about five or ten seconds.’
  • ‘Leave in the tin for five to ten minutes, then remove and serve.’
  • ‘They just don't have time to go to five or ten different shops.’
  • ‘When I survey the parking lot, there are maybe five to ten spots vacant.’
  • ‘She can live like this another five or ten years.’
  • ‘Toxicology tests will take between five and ten days.’
  • ‘Residents have lost between five and ten feet from their gardens.’
  • ‘She always sleeps nine or ten hours the night before the race.’
  • ‘The park is staffed for nine to ten hours a day, six days a week.’
  • ‘One minute of laughing is equivalent to ten minutes on a rowing machine.’
  • ‘Nine times out of ten when we played each other, they would beat us.’
  • ‘Most courses run for between nine and ten weeks.’
  • ‘Cook the cookies until the glaze is set, which should be for five to ten minutes.’
  • ‘As always at this time of the year, he takes nine or ten weeks off.’
  • ‘Remove the meat and allow to cool for five to ten minutes.’
  • ‘He scored ten goals in nine games.’
  • ‘Clients may choose between promotional plans for three, five and ten years.’
  • ‘The food store had enough food in it to comfortably feed the five of them for ten years.’
  • ‘A good article should be just as relevant five or ten years after it is published.’
  • ‘He was said to be around five feet ten inches tall.’

  1. 1.1 A group or unit of ten people or things.
     ‘count in tens’

     More example sentences

     • ‘A couple lost tens of thousands of pounds after their close friend admitted fraud.’
     • ‘As the herd is driven slowly past, one man counts the animals in tens while the other writes down the numbers.’
     • ‘Crowds that numbered in their tens of thousands were standing outside the cathedral chanting his name.’
     • ‘It is the favoured destination for tens of thousands of couples.’
     • ‘If you apply that cost to tens of thousands of devices, you can see the impact.’
     • ‘Companies competed for tens of thousands of new customers.’
     • ‘We have increased by tens of thousands the number of surgical procedures being carried out in this country.’
     • ‘They are the first ten of several dozen commandments delivered to Moses.’
     • ‘Over the past few decades tens of thousands of Irish farming families have been forced off the land.’
     • ‘There is more than enough food in the world to feed everyone, yet tens of thousands of people are starving.’
     • ‘Huge sea turtles numbering in the tens of millions flourished in the Caribbean.’
     • ‘People count by tens and machines count by twos.’
     • ‘The opinions of tens of thousands of other scientists don't count, because they're all biased.’
     • ‘Police chiefs said closing the unit would save taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds.’
     • ‘It's rather odd that time just isn't counted in tens.’
     • ‘The Romans represented units, tens, hundreds, and thousands as separate items in their numbers.’
     • ‘Tens of thousands of people poured onto the streets to topple a corrupt regime.’
     • ‘His army numbers in the tens of thousands.’
     • ‘Cattle numbers plummeted from tens of thousands to mere hundreds.’
     • ‘People were trickling across, but in the dozens rather than tens of thousands.’

     Synonyms

     decade

     View synonyms
  2. 1.2 Ten years old.
     ‘the boy was no more than ten’

     More example sentences

     • ‘A witness had seen a youth, perhaps aged as young as ten or 11, acting suspiciously.’
     • ‘Mr Wilson got his first camera when he was about nine or ten.’
     • ‘Athletes must be ten years of age in order to run in the Championship events.’
     • ‘The courses are usually attended by groups of youngsters - some aged as young as ten.’
     • ‘I'd put their ages at eight and ten.’
     • ‘All boys and girls under ten years of age are welcome to participate.’
     • ‘The couple have eight children from their previous marriages, ranging in age from ten to 18.’
     • ‘She began her piano studies at the age of ten.’
     • ‘They would go canoeing at a time when the children were all under the age of ten.’
     • ‘In her car were six or seven children, all between the ages of ten an thirteen.’
     • ‘She has sons aged ten and six.’
     • ‘It was amazing to observe how she entertained the children, who ranged in age from three to ten years old.’
     • ‘The riders are all ages, some maybe under ten years of age.’
     • ‘At about age ten, you and the family set sail for Perth.’
     • ‘She was a single mother of two children aged ten and eleven-years-old.’
     • ‘Members organised a fancy dress Hallowe'en party for children under ten years of age in the community centre.’
     • ‘The club hopes to expand membership particular among girls and players aged under ten years old.’
     • ‘She will now lead the activities for girls aged from seven to ten in the Brownies.’
     • ‘My eldest grandson, aged ten, was my golf partner.’
     • ‘Membership is open to girls between the ages of seven and ten years of age.’
  3. 1.3 Ten o'clock.
     ‘at about ten at night I got a call’

     More example sentences

     • ‘At ten o'clock tonight I cruised home on the back of a scooter taxi.’
     • ‘As we plodded out into the garden about ten o'clock this evening, a thin layer of dark cloud drifted across from the south-east.’
     • ‘At ten o'clock sharp every night he would go to a bar or a club.’
     • ‘They had to work until ten o'clock at night.’
     • ‘Hitting the alarm clock he saw it was ten o'clock in the morning.’
     • ‘She works from eight o'clock in the morning to ten o'clock at night, six days a week.’
     • ‘After ten o'clock in the evening there were not many people out on the streets.’
     • ‘Glancing at his watch, he realized that it was almost ten o'clock.’
     • ‘Arriving back by ten o'clock, we went straight to the sitting room and sat on the sofa.’
     • ‘It was about ten o'clock yesterday evening when the bell tolled.’
     • ‘At ten o'clock, they went back to their rooms and said good night to each other.’
     • ‘The next train to Cambridge did not leave until ten o'clock the following morning.’
     • ‘It was ten o'clock on a Friday night, and I could think of better places to be.’
     • ‘The ceremony continued from four in the morning to ten at night.’
     • ‘I started out this morning at ten o'clock.’
     • ‘That night, around ten in the evening, he sent me a message.’
     • ‘It was ten o'clock at night, but there wasn't much chance of a rest.’
     • ‘The party started in the afternoon and continued until ten o'clock the next morning.’
     • ‘Shortly after ten o'clock the sound of trumpets could be heard outside the house.’
     • ‘Ben was due to fly out that night at ten o'clock.’
  4. 1.4 A size of garment or other merchandise denoted by ten.
     Example sentences

     • ‘I was attractive, a size ten and got a lot of attention.’
     • ‘I like to use a size twelve hook, though Lee prefers a size ten.’
     • ‘It hadn't been easy to find high heels in a size ten.’
     • ‘I could wear my size ten and twelve clothes a week after my first daughter was born.’
     • ‘I used to be very pretty and could fit into anything that was a size ten.’
  5. 1.5 A ten-pound note or ten-dollar bill.
     ‘he took the money in tens’

     More example sentences

     • ‘He returned and placed a ten, a five, and three ones on the bar’
     • ‘I reached into my pocket, searching for a five-dollar bill, but Lance slapped down a ten’
     • ‘He scanned the few bills that he had left - a ten and some ones.’
     • ‘Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a ten and I give him his change.’
     • ‘She could tell exactly how much of that thick stack of cash was of ones, fives, tens, and hundred-dollar bills.’
     • ‘He paid her with a ten, and walked out’
     • ‘I finished my beer and gave the bartender a ten.’
     • ‘She took out her wallet and dug out a fifty-dollar bill, a ten, a five, and three ones’
     • ‘He handed the waiter a ten and a twenty.’
     • ‘I'll use one of my tens and combine our money to buy it for you!’
     • ‘She saw two fifty-dollar bills, followed by several twenties, a ten, a five, and four one-dollar-bills’
     • ‘Kelly glared at me before pulling out her wallet and giving me a twenty, a ten, and a one’
     • ‘She gave me a ten and I gave her five back.’
     • ‘There were two one dollar bills, one five dollar bill, and two tens - plus three dollars in change.’
     • ‘Simon hands the cashier a ten.’
  6. 1.6 A playing card with ten pips.
     ‘the ten of hearts’

     More example sentences

     • ‘The guy makes a big bet and I look down to find a pair of tens.’
     • ‘This pack can be made from two standard 52-card packs by omitting all the tens and picture cards.’
     • ‘The game point goes to the side that wins the ten of trumps in a trick.’
     • ‘The aces, tens and face cards have point values associated with them.’
     • ‘Kings and tens are worth 10 points each.’
     • ‘The most valuable cards are aces and tens.’
     • ‘The aces and tens are called sharp cards and are worth 10 points each.’
     • ‘On my first night of Internet poker I crushed a seasoned player with a pair of tens.’
     • ‘The ten is placed face up with Jack and Queen on top of it.’
     • ‘The kings of diamonds are the highest trumps instead of the tens of hearts.’
     • ‘Four aces, kings, queens or tens are worth 100.’
     • ‘A hand of tens and jacks usually heralds catastrophe.’
     • ‘The tens are taken out of a normal 52 card pack, leaving 48 cards.’
     • ‘If any of these hand cards are tens or face cards, players can discard some or all of those cards.’
     • ‘If you only have a trio of tens and are sure your opponent has a trio of aces, there is little point in announcing the tens.’
     • ‘You can play a red ten on a black jack.’
     • ‘Take a pack of playing cards and remove the jokers, tens, jacks and queens.’
     • ‘Anyone who holds the ace, king, queen, jack or ten of hearts takes all the chips.’
     • ‘Aces behave like a tens, but can only be played on a jack, queen or king.’
     • ‘The object is to capture aces, tens and the last trick.’