fifteen: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
A1Neutral
Quick answer
What does “fifteen” mean?
The cardinal number equivalent to the sum of ten and five.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
The cardinal number equivalent to the sum of ten and five.
Can refer to a group of fifteen people or things; the age of fifteen years; a sports team (e.g., rugby union); the 15th in a series.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant semantic differences. Minor orthographic differences exist in related compounds (e.g., 'fifteenth'). The sports context for 'fifteen' (rugby union) is more prevalent in UK/Commonwealth usage.
Connotations
In both varieties, the age of fifteen often connotes adolescence, early teenage years, and specific legal/cultural milestones (learner's permit in US, end of compulsory education key stage in UK).
Frequency
Equally high frequency in both varieties as a basic numeral.
Grammar
How to Use “fifteen” in a Sentence
NUMERAL + NOUN (fifteen people)BE + fifteen + (YEARS OLD)AT + fifteenOF + fifteenA + fifteen + (e.g., a fifteen-year-old)Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “fifteen” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- (Not applicable as a verb. It can be part of a phrasal verb like 'to fifteen-love' in tennis scoring, but this is highly niche.)
American English
- (Not applicable as a verb.)
adverb
British English
- (Not standardly used as an adverb.)
American English
- (Not standardly used as an adverb.)
adjective
British English
- She bought a fifteen-metre roll of fabric.
- It's a fifteen-part documentary series.
American English
- She bought a fifteen-foot boat.
- He took a fifteen-minute break.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Used in financial reports, quotas, and percentages (e.g., 'a fifteen percent increase').
Academic
Used in statistics, historical dating, and quantitative descriptions.
Everyday
Extremely common for stating age, time, quantity, and prices.
Technical
Used in sports scoring (rugby, tennis), software versioning, and product model numbers.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “fifteen”
- Misspelling as 'fiveteen' (hypercorrection from 'five').
- Incorrect stress placement (e.g., FIF-teen instead of fif-TEEN).
- Using with plural noun without 'of' (e.g., 'fifteen people' is correct, but 'fifteen of people' is incorrect).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The correct spelling is 'fifteen'. A common misspelling is 'fifthteen', likely due to the influence of the ordinal number 'fifth'.
The primary stress is on the second syllable: 'fif-TEEN' /ˌfɪfˈtiːn/. The first syllable rhymes with 'if'.
Yes, it can function as a noun, for example: 'She is in her early teens, just turned fifteen' or 'They fielded a strong fifteen for the final match' (referring to a rugby team).
'Fifteen' is a cardinal number (indicating quantity: 15 items). 'Fifteenth' is an ordinal number (indicating position in a sequence: the 15th item).
The cardinal number equivalent to the sum of ten and five.
Fifteen is usually neutral in register.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Fifteen minutes of fame”
- “Sweet fifteen (quinceañera adaptation)”
- “Nine to five (contrasting phrase)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
FIFteen has FIF in it, like 'five'. It's five (fif) more than ten.
Conceptual Metaphor
QUANTITY IS SIZE (a fifteen-pound turkey), TIME IS SPACE (fifteen minutes away), AGE IS A JOURNEY (she reached fifteen).
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'a fifteen' most likely to refer to a team?