fifteen
gb/fɪftˈin/ us/fɪftˈin/
A1
English
~ 8700
Senses
0 senses
adjective
A1
quantity
1
being fifteen in number
Showing that there are 15 of something.
Usage pattern:
fifteen [countable noun]
Common mistake:
Learners often confuse the pronunciation and spelling of 'fifteen' and 'fifty'. 'Fifteen' has the stress on the second syllable (fif-TEEN), while 'fifty' has the stress on the first (FIF-ty). Another common mistake is forgetting the hyphens in compound adjectives like 'a fifteen-year-old girl'.
Synonyms
15 (Numeric symbol used in writing instead of the word form.)
|
a quarter (Sometimes used for fifteen minutes, especially with time; less general than 'fifteen'.)
Antonyms
zero (Shows no quantity, the opposite of having fifteen of something.)
|
many (Indefinite large quantity; contrasts with the specific fixed amount 'fifteen'.)
Collocations
fifteen minutes
|fifteen years old
|fifteen people
|fifteen percent
|a fifteen-minute break
|fifteen dollars
Themes
numbers
|daily life
|education
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- We waited fifteen minutes for the bus.
- She bought fifteen apples at the market.
- The class has fifteen students this year.
- He ran fifteen kilometers in the race.
- They need fifteen more votes to win.
Learner examples
- I have fifteen books on my desk.
- She is fifteen years old.
- We will meet in fifteen minutes.
- There are fifteen chairs in this room.
Noun
A1
quantity
2
the number fifteen itself
The number 15, used for things like age, scores, or bus and room numbers.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes treat 'fifteen' as an adjective when it stands alone as a number, saying things like *'the fifteen number'* instead of 'the number fifteen'. They also sometimes say *'fifteen years'* when they mean age as a noun, where natural English often uses 'fifteen' alone: 'She is fifteen,' not *'She is fifteen years.'*
Synonyms
15 (The written digit form of the same number.)
|
ten plus five (A descriptive way to express the value of the number; less common and more explanatory.)
Antonyms
zero (Represents no amount, contrasting with the specific number fifteen.)
|
one (The smallest positive whole number, contrasting with the larger value fifteen.)
Collocations
the number fifteen
|fifteen is
|page fifteen
|chapter fifteen
|room fifteen
|bus fifteen
Themes
numbers
|mathematics
|time
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Fifteen is my lucky number.
- In tennis, the first point is called fifteen.
- She scored fifteen on the quiz, which was the highest in the class.
- Bus fifteen goes to the city center.
- We can only seat twelve people here, so fifteen is too many.
Learner examples
- Fifteen is between fourteen and sixteen.
- My favorite number is fifteen.
- The answer to the question is fifteen.
- Room fifteen is on the second floor.
Grammar
Dictionary form
fifteen
IPA
GB/fɪftˈin/
US/fɪftˈin/
Syllables & stress
fif - teen (2 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (teen)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: fifteen
- Comparative: fifteener
- Superlative: fifteenest
Noun
- Base: fifteen
- Plural: fifteens
Word family
Expressions
fifteen minutes of fame
1/fɪftˈin mˈɪnɪts əv fˈeɪm/
idiom
short period of sudden fame
A short time when many people know about you or talk about you, usually because of one event or because you were on TV or online.
Examples
- The viral video gave him his fifteen minutes of fame.
- After the video went viral, he enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame and then life went back to normal.
- She enjoyed her fifteen minutes of fame after winning the game show.
- Reality shows often give ordinary people their fifteen minutes of fame.
- In the age of social media, many people get their fifteen minutes of fame.
- She joked that winning the contest was just her fifteen minutes of fame.