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

  • ‘Cook the cookies until the glaze is set, which should be for five to ten minutes.’
  • ‘I looked at him impassively for about five or ten seconds.’
  • ‘He was said to be around five feet ten inches tall.’
  • ‘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.’
  • ‘Nine times out of ten when we played each other, they would beat us.’
  • ‘The food store had enough food in it to comfortably feed the five of them for ten years.’
  • ‘Most courses run for between nine and ten weeks.’
  • ‘A good article should be just as relevant five or ten years after it is published.’
  • ‘Clients may choose between promotional plans for three, five and ten years.’
  • ‘She always sleeps nine or ten hours the night before the race.’
  • ‘She can live like this another five or ten years.’
  • ‘He scored ten goals in nine games.’
  • ‘Residents have lost between five and ten feet from their gardens.’
  • ‘As always at this time of the year, he takes nine or ten weeks off.’
  • ‘The park is staffed for nine to ten hours a day, six days a week.’
  • ‘Leave in the tin for five to ten minutes, then remove and serve.’
  • ‘Remove the meat and allow to cool for five to ten minutes.’
  • ‘One minute of laughing is equivalent to ten minutes on a rowing machine.’
  • ‘Toxicology tests will take between five and ten days.’

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

     More example sentences

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

     Synonyms

     decade

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

     More example sentences

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

     More example sentences

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

     • ‘I like to use a size twelve hook, though Lee prefers 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.’
     • ‘I was attractive, a size ten and got a lot of attention.’
     • ‘It hadn't been easy to find high heels in a size ten.’
  5. 1.5 A ten-pound note or ten-dollar bill.
     ‘he took the money in tens’

     More example sentences

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

     More example sentences

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