Thirteen Meaning
/ˌθɜːˈtiːn/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
numThe cardinal number occurring after twelve and before fourteen: ten and three.
Sentence Examples
A time bomb went off in the airport killing thirteen people.
Children under thirteen years of age are not admitted to this swimming pool.
CEFR Practice Quiz
There are exactly ____ students in the class, not one more or less.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He celebrated his ____ birthday yesterday and he was very excited to finally be a regular teenager today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English thirttene, variant (through metathesis) of thrittene, from Old English þrēotīene, from Proto-Germanic *þritehun, compound of *þrīz (“three”) + *tehun (“teen”). Cognate with West Frisian trettjin, Dutch dertien, German dreizehn, Danish tretten. Equivalent to three + -teen.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant[…]"
— 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond:
"In the spring of 1857, I, with several friends, left Hongkong for Shanghai, viâ Foochow, in the small coasting steamer Antelope. No noteworthy incident occurred until after leaving Foochow when, as we were enjoying our after dinner coffee and cigars, and by chance discussing the question of thirteen sitting down at table that had occurred at a dinner at which one of the party had shortly before been present, a violent thump and tremulous motion of the vessel announced the unpleasant fact that we had struck upon something. We rushed on deck and found the steamer hard and fast on a reef near Matsu Island. Fortunately the day was fine and there was no sea on."
— 1890 February 28, W. S. Wetmore, “RECOLLECTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA IN THE FIFTIES.”, in North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette, volume XLIV, number 1178, Shanghai, →OCLC, page 256, column 1:
"In the summer of 2014, at least thirteen BTGs and elements of five SPETSNAZ units were poised on the Ukrainian border.³⁶"
— 2014, “Little Green Men”: A Primer on Modern Russian Unconventional Warfare, Ukraine 2013–2014, Fort Bragg, North Carolina: The United States Army Special Operations Command, page 42:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
There are exactly ____ students in the class, not one more or less.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He celebrated his ____ birthday yesterday and he was very excited to finally be a regular teenager today.