sixtieth

sixtieth — adjective

1. happening or coming after the fifty-ninth in a series, especially for important

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

happening or coming after the fifty-ninth in a series, especially for important life events like birthdays or anniversaries, or for chapters, pages, or years.

Example

Grandma Reema celebrated her sixtieth birthday with a big family dinner.

milestone birthday collocation

The company published its sixtieth annual report this spring with a summary of sales.

Common collocations
  • sixtieth birthday
  • sixtieth anniversary
  • sixtieth edition
  • sixtieth year
Antonyms
  • first

    the beginning of a series rather than position 60

Grammar Patterns

the sixtieth + noun

his/her/their sixtieth + noun

Usage Note

Commonly used with milestone nouns like birthday, anniversary, year, and edition. Many cultures consider the 60th birthday and 60th wedding anniversary especially significant.

Common Mistakes

She celebrated her sixty birthday.
She celebrated her sixtieth birthday.
Use the ordinal form (sixtieth), not the cardinal form (sixty), when describing position in a sequence.

2. written or spoken as the word for the number 60 in a sequence, rather than using

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

written or spoken as the word for the number 60 in a sequence, rather than using the numeral '60th'.

Example

Christopher wrote 'sixtieth' on the birthday card instead of using the number 60th.

ordinal number written as a word

The teacher asked the class to write 'sixtieth' not the numeral '60th' in the dictation.

word form contrasted with numeral

Grammar Patterns

the sixtieth + noun

Usage Note

This sense only refers to using the English word form rather than the numeral. The numeral '60th' is far more common in everyday writing.

Common Mistakes

It is my sixtieth birthday today' (spelled 'sixtith').
It is my sixtieth birthday today.
The word ends in '-ieth', not '-ith', after the silent 'x' in 'sixty'.

3. relating to one of the sixty equal parts that a whole can be divided into, used

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to one of the sixty equal parts that a whole can be divided into, used when describing portions or shares.

Example

Each committee member received a sixtieth share of the total research grant.

a sixtieth share

The baker sliced the cake into sixty equal wedges and called each a sixtieth piece.

each a sixtieth piece — concrete fraction in a physical division context

Common collocations
  • sixtieth share
  • sixtieth portion

Grammar Patterns

a sixtieth + noun

Usage Note

Rarely used in everyday conversation. The mathematical fraction '1/60' or the phrase 'one-sixtieth of' is far more common than the adjectival form.

sixtieth — noun

Word family

  • sixty
    cardinal numberA1
  • sixth
    ordinal numberA2
  • sixties
    nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Learners often confuse 'sixtieth' (B1), 'sixty' (A1), and 'sixth' (A2) because the spellings and sounds are similar. 'Sixty' is a cardinal number meaning the whole quantity 60 ('sixty people came'), while 'sixtieth' is the ordinal form meaning position 60 in a sequence ('the sixtieth person to arrive'). 'Sixth' is the ordinal for 6, not 60 — a completely different position. A concrete memory aid: 'sixtieth' contains the word 'sixty' plus the '-eth' ending, just as 'twentieth' comes from 'twenty'. For example: 'There are sixty candles on the cake, but I am only blowing out the sixtieth one.' And 'He finished sixth in one race but sixtieth in another — a huge difference in ranking.'

sixtieth ↗sixty ↗sixth ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • the sixtieth of
  • a sixtieth of

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishProto-GermanicEnglish

Formed from the cardinal number 'sixty' (from Old English 'sixtig', meaning 'six groups of ten') plus the ordinal suffix '-th'. The '-eth' spelling reflects the way 'sixty' shifts to 'sixtieth' in pronunciation, keeping the 'y' before the ending — similar to 'twentieth', 'thirtieth', 'fortieth', 'fiftieth'.