# ten

Pronunciation: say "TEN" /tɛn/

## Numeral

1. The number occurring after nine and before eleven, written as 10 in Arabic numerals and as X in Roman numerals.
   - Simple: The number that comes after nine and before eleven, written as 10.
   - _The committee needs ten votes to pass the measure._
   - _She turned ten last spring and started fifth grade._

## Noun

2. In the plural, an inexact number several times ten, or several times a stated amount, as in 'tens of volunteers' or 'tens of thousands'.
   - Simple: A rough number in the plural: 'tens of people' is several times ten, and 'tens of thousands' is several times ten thousand.
   - _Tens of volunteers showed up to clean the beach after the storm._
   - _A single faulty part can force a recall of tens of thousands of cars._
3. A set or group made up of exactly ten elements or members.
   - Simple: A group made up of exactly ten things or people.
   - _Eggs at some markets are sold in tens rather than by the dozen._
   - _The envelopes were bundled in tens to make them easier to count._
4. A denomination of currency with a value of ten units, especially a banknote such as a ten-dollar bill.
   - Simple: A piece of paper money worth ten units, such as ten dollars.
   - _Can you break this twenty into two tens?_
   - _He slipped a ten into the tip jar on his way out._
5. The top score on a scale of one to ten, used of someone or something perfect or extreme, especially a very attractive person. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: Someone or something perfect, as if given the top score out of ten, especially a very good-looking person.
   - _Everyone at the gym agrees the new trainer is a ten._
   - _Her closing performance wasn't just good. It was a ten._
6. A playing card of any suit that bears the rank or value of ten.
   - Simple: A playing card that shows the number ten.
   - _The ten of spades completed her straight._
   - _He discarded both red tens early in the hand._

## Other meanings

- (noun) In rowing, a burst of ten strokes rowed flat out at full pressure.

## Origin

From Middle English "ten," from Old English "tīen," from Proto-Germanic "*tehun," and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root "*déḱm̥." It is related to Scots "ten" and West Frisian "tsien."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/ten (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).