sixty

sixty — noun

1. the number 60, used when you want to say how many of something there are or to c

1.nounA1
Definition

the number 60, used when you want to say how many of something there are or to count things.

Example

Kian invited sixty classmates to his birthday party at the park.

sixty + plural noun (classmates)

The bus takes about sixty minutes to reach the city centre.

sixty + minutes (time measurement)

Common collocations
  • sixty years old
  • sixty percent
  • sixty dollars
  • sixty people
  • sixty minutes

Grammar Patterns

sixty + plural noun

sixty + per cent / percent

there are + sixty + plural noun

Usage Note

Unlike Mandarin Chinese, English places 'sixty' directly before a noun without any measure word — for example, 'sixty books', not 'sixty of books'. The same word is used whether it comes before a noun or stands alone.

Common Mistakes

There are sixty of students in the hall.
There are sixty students in the hall.
In English, numbers go directly before the noun without 'of'.

2. the number 60 thought of as a thing in itself — for example, when talking about

2.nounA1
Definition

the number 60 thought of as a thing in itself — for example, when talking about a number in maths, a person's age, or a score out of a hundred.

Example

The number sixty was painted on the classroom wall above the clock.

sixty as a noun subject

Zuri's father is in his early sixties and works on a small farm daily.

in one's sixties (age range 60–69)

Common collocations
  • in one's sixties
  • early sixties / late sixties
  • turn sixty
  • over sixty
  • sixty out of a hundred

Grammar Patterns

sixty + singular verb

in one's sixties

the + sixty

Usage Note

To talk about the age range from 60 to 69, use the plural 'sixties' — for example, 'a woman in her sixties'. The ordinal form 'sixtieth' (60th) is used for order, as in 'her sixtieth birthday'.

Common Mistakes

My grandfather is in his sixty.
My grandfather is in his sixties.
Use the plural 'sixties' to mean the decade of life from 60 to 69.
Today is his sixty birthday.
Today is his sixtieth birthday.
Use 'sixtieth' (not 'sixty') for ordinal numbering.

Word family

  • sixtieth
    ordinal number / nounA2
  • sixtyfold
    adjective / adverbC1
  • sixtyish
    adjectiveC2

Common collocations

Nouns

  • years old
  • per cent
  • dollars
  • minutes
  • people
  • marks

Phrases

  • sixty years old
  • turn sixty
  • in one's sixties
  • sixty per cent
  • sixty out of a hundred

Prepositions

  • in one's sixties
  • out of sixty
  • over sixty
  • under sixty

Etymology

Old EnglishGermanicEnglish

The word 'sixty' comes from Old English 'sixtig', which was built from 'six' plus the suffix '-tig' (meaning 'group of ten'). This way of forming tens — 'six tens' — was shared with other Germanic languages. The structure is the same as Modern German 'sechzig' and Dutch 'zestig'.