twentieth

twentieth — ordinal number

1. the number 20 written out in words, used to show the position of a person or thi

1.ordinal numberA2
Definition

the number 20 written out in words, used to show the position of a person or thing in a sequence or list — for example, a person's twentieth birthday, or the twentieth century in history.

Example

Ezra's family threw a party for his twentieth birthday.

possessive + twentieth + noun for birthday

The store celebrated its twentieth year in business with a huge sale.

the + twentieth + noun for anniversary

Common collocations
  • the twentieth century
  • twentieth birthday
  • twentieth anniversary
  • twentieth time
  • twentieth chapter
Synonyms
  • 20th

    the digit-form alternative used in informal writing and dates

Grammar Patterns

the + twentieth + noun

possessive + twentieth + noun

Usage Note

In date expressions, 'the twentieth' can stand without a following noun: 'the twentieth of May'. For centuries, ordinals are always followed by a noun: 'the twentieth century'.

Common Mistakes

She was born in twenty century.
She was born in the twentieth century.
Ordinal numbers need the article 'the' before them when referring to centuries or numbered series.

twentieth — noun

twentieth — adjective

Word family

  • twenty
    numberA1
  • twenties
    nounA2
  • twentiethly
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: ordinal number/1

The cardinal number 'twenty' simply states a quantity or count: 'She has twenty students in her class.' The ordinal 'twentieth' tells the exact position in an ordered sequence: 'She teaches the twentieth student on the list.' Learners often confuse these because both involve the number 20, but the grammatical context is different — cardinals come before plural nouns ('twenty pages'), while ordinals come before singular nouns with 'the' ('the twentieth page'). Additionally, the noun fraction sense 'a twentieth' refers to one of twenty equal parts ('a twentieth of the budget'), which is a different grammatical pattern requiring 'a' or 'one' plus 'of'. A useful rule: if you can replace it with 'number 20', use the ordinal; if you can replace it with '20 items', use the cardinal; if you can replace it with '1/20', use the fraction.

twenty ↗twentieth (ordinal)twentieth (fraction)

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a twentieth of
  • one twentieth
  • the twentieth + noun

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Twentieth comes from Old English 'twēntigoða', formed by adding the ordinal suffix '-oða' to 'twēntig' (twenty). In Middle English, the word was spelled 'twentithe' or 'tuentiþe'. The modern spelling with '-ieth' instead of '-th' follows the pattern of other multiples of ten (thirtieth, fortieth, etc.), and was established in the 1500s.