What does sixth mean?
Sixth is the ordinal number corresponding to six, indicating the sixth position, member, stage, or occurrence in a series. It commonly appears with words such as place, time, and grade: a runner may finish sixth, an event may occur on the sixth of a month, or a pupil may study in sixth grade. As a noun, sixth names a position, unit, or ranking—for example, a team may come sixth in a competition. It can also denote one of six equal parts, as in “three sixths of the total.” When used adverbially, sixth usually means “in sixth place” and is especially common in reports of races, competitions, and rankings. The word has no marked regional or social connotations in contemporary British and American English. Its association with intuition through the established phrase “sixth sense” gives it a memorable figurative use beyond straightforward numerical description.
Denoting the sixth member, position, stage, or occurrence in a series.
"She secured a sixth-place finish in the race."
As a modifier, sixth is commonly hyphenated when it appears before a noun, as in “sixth-place finish.”
The sixth position, unit, part, or occurrence in an ordered series.
"His horse came sixth in the final race."
The plural sixths is used especially when referring to equal fractional parts.
In sixth position; in sixth place.
"The swimmer touched the wall sixth."
This use is especially common in sporting and competitive contexts.
The plural sixths is used when sixth functions as a noun, particularly for fractional parts such as two sixths.
"At least three sixths of the group supported the proposal."
The phrase “sixth sense” transforms an ordinary ordinal into a symbol of intuition beyond the five traditional senses.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sixth come from?
Sixth comes from Old English sixta, an ordinal formed within the Germanic languages from the word for six. It was ultimately derived from the same Indo-European root underlying English six. Related Latin-rooted English words include sextet, sestet, and sextant, while German sechste and Dutch zesde provide close Germanic cognates.
How sixth is actually used
Sixth is neutral in tone and follows standard ordinal usage in formal and informal English. As a noun, it normally appears in the pattern “come or finish sixth”; as an adverb, it likewise means “in sixth place.”