1
: a group or set of 10
his prisoners were divided into decades—
William Godwin
: such as
William Godwin
a
: a period of 10 years
has been teaching for over a decade
the decade of the twenties
b
Roman Catholicism
: a division of the rosary that consists primarily of 10 Hail Marys
2
mathematics
: a ratio of 10 to 1 : order of magnitude
Examples of decade in a Sentence
The war lasted nearly a decade.
The bridge was built a decade ago.
The decade of the 1920s runs from January 1, 1920 to December 31, 1929.
the first decade of the 21st century
There have been a lot of changes during the past two decades.
Recent Examples on the Web
According to the city, the number of firefighters and police has remained virtually unchanged over the past decade.
—Luis Melecio-Zambrano, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
For decades, the United States has required technology companies to seek parental consent to access the data of children under 13, leading to most social media platforms banning those under that age from accessing their services.
—Reuters, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
Over four decades later, new soil samples taken from the same regions still indicated a better fungi and bacteria presence than the areas that did not host gophers.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 7 Nov. 2024
Every four years for at least the past seven decades, Nancy Ike dutifully cast her vote for U.S. president, said her daughter, Leslie Becker.
—Amber Hunt, The Enquirer, 6 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for decade 
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Luis Melecio-Zambrano, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
For decades, the United States has required technology companies to seek parental consent to access the data of children under 13, leading to most social media platforms banning those under that age from accessing their services.
—Reuters, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
Over four decades later, new soil samples taken from the same regions still indicated a better fungi and bacteria presence than the areas that did not host gophers.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 7 Nov. 2024
Every four years for at least the past seven decades, Nancy Ike dutifully cast her vote for U.S. president, said her daughter, Leslie Becker.
—Amber Hunt, The Enquirer, 6 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for decade
Dictionary Entries Near decade
Cite this Entry
“Decade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decade. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
decade
noun
de·cade
ˈdek-ˌād 
-əd;
de-ˈkād;
sense 3 is usually ˈdek-əd
1
: a group or set of 10
2
: a period of 10 years
3
: a part of the rosary made up mainly of 10 Hail Marys
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