What does "ten" mean?
A set or group with ten elements.
Ten
/tɛn/ name, noun, num, slang
name, noun, num, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A set or group with ten elements.
- Grammar: ten is listed as name, noun, num, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: 10, 10, big dick, blow.
- Useful contrasts: first, low score, nil.
- Usage evidence: Ten years is a long time to wait.
How to use "ten"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ten" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ten" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ten" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ten" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ten" is acting as name, noun, num, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "10" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ten", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A set or group with ten elements. countable, uncountable
"We divided the chocolates into tens to hand out to Hallowe'en visitors."
- 2 Initialism of toxic epidermal necrolysis. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
- 3 one of four playing cards in a deck with ten pips on the face wordnet
- 4 An inexact quantity, typically understood to be between 20 and 100. countable, in-plural, uncountable
"Our houses are tens of meters apart, so we don't have to worry about noise from our neighbours."
- 5 the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A card in a given suit with a value of ten. countable
- 7 A denomination of currency, such as a banknote, with a value of ten units. countable
"Can you give me two tens for this twenty?"
- 8 A perfect specimen, (particularly) a physically attractive person. US, countable, slang
"I was in the Woodley Park–Zoo in D.C. and mom and sister were waiting to see the pandas, so me and my pops broke away to check out the monkey house. Well, there was a beautiful teacher, I mean we're talking a ten, she was blond, had a low-cut dress on, just gorgeous. And she has about eight or nine students and she's pointing out all the different monkeys. And me and my dad noticed this huge orangutan kind of fiddling with himself. And on close [censored] And we kept checking it out and he was looking directly at the teacher. Well, a couple minutes passed by [censored] he proceeds to [censored] that's when the teacher noticed and, you know, took the kids away very hurriedly. But I looked at my dad and said, you know, they're so much like us."
- 9 A high level of intensity. US, countable, slang
""Intensities in 10 Cities""
- 10 The act of rowing ten strokes flat out. countable
"At the 1,000-metres post we gave a ten, which raised our lead to 1⅔ lengths; the Belgians were rowing hard, but one felt that they still had plenty of spurting power."
Adjective
- 1 being one more than nine wordnet
Numeral
- 1 The number occurring after nine and before eleven, represented in Arabic numerals (base ten) as 10 and in Roman numerals as X.
"There is a melody upon the Earth as though ten thousand streams all sang together for their homes that they had forsaken in the hills."
Proper Noun
- 1 Abbreviation of Tennessee. abbreviation, alt-of
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Ten years is a long time to wait."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ten"?
Common synonyms include: 10, 10, big dick, blow, break, breath.
How do you use "ten" in a sentence?
Ten years is a long time to wait.
How do you pronounce "ten"?
Pronounced /tɛn/.
Etymology
PIE word *déḱm̥ From Middle English ten, tene, from Old English tīen, from Proto-West Germanic *tehun, from Proto-Germanic *tehun, from Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥. Cognate with Scots ten, tene (“ten”), West Frisian tsien (“ten”), Saterland Frisian tjoon (“ten”), North Frisian tiin (“ten”). See also teen.