- a period of ten years, especially a continuous period, such as 1910–1919 or 2000–2009
- the early decades of the nineteenth century
- The nineties were a decade of rapid advances.
- a career spanning five decades
- over a decade He's changed a lot over the past decade.
- for decades The war may be short but the environmental impacts could last for decades.
Extra ExamplesTopics Timeb1- Now entering her fourth decade, the singer is living alone in New York.
- This decade began badly for us.
- almost a full decade of unparalleled economic growth
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- current
- present
- coming
- …
- spend
- span
- enter
- …
- elapse
- go by
- pass
- …
- during a/the decade
- in a/the decade
- over a/the decade
- …
Word Originlate Middle English (denoting each of ten parts of a literary work): via Old French and late Latin from Greek deka ‘ten’. The current sense dates from the early 17th cent.Want to learn more?
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decade