thirty-two

noun

thir·​ty-two ˌthər-tē-ˈtü How to pronounce thirty-two (audio)
1
: a number that is one more than 31 see Table of Numbers
2
: a .32 caliber handgun
usually written .32
thirty-two adjective
thirty-two pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of thirty-two in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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On June 20, 1979, President Jimmy Carter—sporting a bushy haircut and a wide necktie—invited dignitaries and reporters onto the roof of the White House to watch the installation of thirty-two solar water-heating panels. Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 29 Dec. 2024 Israel allegedly detonated the devices remotely, wounding more than three thousand people and killing thirty-two, including two children. Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024 The horrific deaths of thirty-two Mexican guest farmworkers, or braceros, in California in 1963 put the nail in the coffin of an already-controversial labor program. Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 30 Nov. 2024 He was replaced by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s longest-serving leader, who helmed the organization for thirty-two years, until his death in a ferocious Israeli bombardment on Beirut in September. Rania Abouzeid, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024 The buck proved to be a seven-pointer, an ancient fellow with a main beam of twenty-eight inches, and a spread of thirty-two. Jack O’Connor, Outdoor Life, 6 Nov. 2024 The poll saw the lead Biden (who had not yet withdrawn his candidacy) had among such voters drop thirty-two points, down to sixteen points from forty-eight in 2020. Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024 Christmas in Asheville, over the past thirty-two years, has grown to be quite synonymous with gingerbread. Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 22 Oct. 2024 Finally, in September, the government shut down thirty-two Web sites that disguised Kremlin propaganda as content from news organizations such as Fox News and the Washington Post. David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of thirty-two was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near thirty-two

Cite this Entry

“Thirty-two.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thirty-two. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

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