ten /ten/ BrE AmE number, noun
[Language: Old English; Origin: tien] 1. the number 10:
Snow had been falling steadily for ten days.
I need to be home by ten (=ten o'clock).
At the time, she was about ten (=ten years old). 2. ten to one informal used to say that something is very likely:
Ten to one he’ll have forgotten all about it tomorrow. 3. be ten a penny British English informal to be very common and therefore not special or unusual ⇨ be a dime a dozen at ↑dime(2) 4. (get) ten out of ten (for something) British English used in schools to give a perfect mark, or humorously to praise someone:
You get ten out of ten for effort, Simon. 5. [countable] a piece of paper money that is worth ten dollars or ten pounds:
I reached inside my purse and handed him a ten.
ten[tentens][ten][ten]number
10 There are examples of how to use numbers at the entry for five. Idioms: ten out of ten ▪ ten to one Word Origin:
Old English tēn, tīen, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch tien and German zehn, from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit daśa, Greek deka, and Latin decem.
ten /ˈtɛn/ noun, pltens 1[count] : the number 10 2[count] : the tenth in a set or series • the ten of spades • page ten 3[noncount] : ten o'clock • “What time is it” “It's ten.” 4[count] aUS : a ten-dollar bill • The total cost was $7.83 and she gave him a ten. • Do you have any fives or tens? bBrit : a ten-pound note 5[singular] a : something that is the best • The food at the restaurant is a (perfect) ten. b : a very attractive person • She's a ten. ten a pennyBritinformal : very common • Thrillers are ten a penny [=(US) a dime a dozen] these days. ten out of ten
- used to say that something was done very well • I'll give them ten out of ten for creativity. ten to oneinformal : very likely • Ten to one they'll lose. [=I think they'll almost certainly lose]
- tenadj • ten cars/guests/choices
- tenpronoun • Ten (of them) passed the test.
