What does sixty mean?
“Sixty” is the English cardinal number for 60, equivalent to six tens. It functions chiefly as a numeral modifying a noun, as in “sixty people” or “sixty years,” but it can also stand as a noun for the number itself. In phrases referring to age or historical periods, the plural “sixties” is usual: someone may be “in their sixties,” while “the sixties” can denote the decade from 1960 to 1969 or a broader period of cultural change. The word is completely neutral in register and is equally standard in British and American English. An older expression, “three score,” recalls the traditional way of describing multiples of twenty, although it now sounds literary or archaic. Sixty also combines naturally with percentages, ages, and ordinary quantities, making it especially useful when discussing rates, life stages, anniversaries, or approximate counts.
Denoting the cardinal number sixty, or a quantity, age, or measurement equal to sixty.
"The bridge was designed to carry sixty thousand vehicles a day."
Used before a noun as a numeral modifier; it does not normally take a plural form in this function.
The number sixty; also, in the plural “sixties,” a person aged sixty to sixty-nine or the decade from 1960 to 1969.
"The exact score was announced as sixty."
The singular is chiefly used when stating the number itself. The plural “sixties” is standard for age ranges and decades.
The plural denotes a group or range of people aged from 60 to 69, or a decade or period such as the 1960s.
"She is in her sixties and has recently begun learning pottery."
Sixty was literally “six tens” in its Old English ancestor, sextig: the number’s name preserves the basic six-and-multiply-by-ten system.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sixty come from?
English “sixty” descends from Old English sextig, a numeral formed from “six” and “tig,” meaning “ten,” and thus literally expressing “six tens.” It belongs to the same Germanic numeral family as “six” and “sixteen.” English forms related to the Latin sixty-based numeral system include “sexagenary” and “sexagesimal,” although these are learned or specialized terms rather than everyday alternatives to “sixty.”
Related word forms
How sixty is actually used
The word is neutral in register and standard in both British and American English. “Three score” is traditional or literary rather than ordinary modern usage. In age and decade expressions, “sixties” is normally used in the plural, as in “in his sixties” or “the sixties.”
Easily confused with sixty
Sixty means 60, whereas sixteen means 16; both are compound numerals beginning with six but have entirely different values.
Sixty is the number 60, while seventy is the number 70.