fifty
gb/fˈɪfti/ us/fˈɪfti/
A1
English
~ 7300
Senses
0 senses
adjective
A1
quantity
1
being 50 in number
Being 50 in number.
Usage pattern:
fifty [plural countable noun]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse the pronunciation of “fifty” /ˈfɪfti/ with “fifteen” /ˌfɪfˈtiːn/. “Fifty” means 50, while “fifteen” means 15. In writing, they may also mistakenly add an extra ‘f’ and write *fiffty*, which is incorrect.
Synonyms
50 (Written with digits instead of the word form.)
|
half a hundred (Rare and somewhat old-fashioned or playful.)
Antonyms
zero (Represents no quantity, the opposite of having fifty of something.)
Collocations
fifty years
|fifty dollars
|fifty percent
|fifty people
|fifty miles
Themes
numbers
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- We invited fifty guests to the wedding.
- The shop is offering fifty percent off all shoes.
- It takes about fifty minutes to get there by bus.
- The class has fifty students this year.
- She saved fifty dollars from her last paycheck.
Learner examples
- There are fifty chairs in the room.
- My grandmother is fifty years old.
- He bought fifty apples for the party.
- I can read fifty pages in one hour.
- They live about fifty kilometers from here.
Noun
A1
quantity
2
the number fifty itself
The number 50.
Usage pattern:
[number] to fifty
Common mistake:
Some learners are unsure when to treat “fifty” as a noun. When you talk about the number itself, you can say “Fifty is an even number,” not *“The fifty is an even number.”* Do not use an article before “fifty” when you mean the number in general.
Synonyms
50 (The digit form of the same number.)
Antonyms
zero (Represents no amount, in contrast with the positive number fifty.)
Collocations
up to fifty
|over fifty
|around fifty
|about fifty
|from forty to fifty
Themes
numbers
|mathematics
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Fifty is half of one hundred.
- You need to score at least fifty to pass the test.
- I can count to fifty in English.
- The speed limit here is fifty.
- He wrote the number fifty on the form.
Learner examples
- Fifty comes after forty‑nine.
- Fifty is a big number for a small child.
- She can say all the numbers from one to fifty.
- The answer is fifty, not sixty.
- Please circle the number fifty on the page.
Noun
B1
quantity
3
ages between 50 and 59
The time in someone’s life when they are 50 to 59 years old.
Usage pattern:
[someone] is in [possessive] fifties
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes forget the plural form and say *“He is in his fifty.”* The correct form is “in his fifties” for ages 50–59. Also, do not add “years” after this structure; say “She is in her fifties,” not *“She is in her fifties years.”*
Synonyms
age 50–59 (More technical or written way to describe the same age range.)
Antonyms
twenties (A much younger adult age range, often contrasted with the fifties.)
Collocations
in his fifties
|in her early fifties
|in her late fifties
|mid‑fifties
|reach fifty
Themes
age
|life stages
|time
|daily_life
Examples
- He’s in his mid‑fifties but still plays football every weekend.
- Many people change careers in their fifties.
- She looks amazing for someone in her late fifties.
- By his fifties, he had traveled to every continent.
- People in their fifties often start thinking about retirement.
Learner examples
- My father is in his fifties.
- She is in her early fifties but very active.
- Many people in their fifties wear glasses.
- He lost some hair in his fifties.
- Some women change jobs in their fifties.
Noun
B1
quantity
4
the decade of the 1950s
The years 1950 to 1959.
Usage pattern:
in the fifties
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse “in his fifties” (age) with “in the fifties” (the decade 1950–1959). Use “his/her” for age and “the” for the decade. Also, in writing about the decade, English often capitalizes it as “the Fifties” or writes “the 1950s.”
Synonyms
the 1950s (More explicit and slightly more formal way to name the same decade.)
Antonyms
the 1960s (The following decade, often contrasted with the fifties in historical or cultural discussions.)
Collocations
in the fifties
|the early fifties
|the late fifties
|music of the fifties
|fashion of the fifties
Themes
history
|culture
|time
Examples
- Rock and roll became popular in the fifties.
- My grandparents got married in the early fifties.
- The town grew quickly during the fifties and sixties.
- She loves movies from the fifties.
- Housing was much cheaper in the fifties.
Learner examples
- My mother was born in the fifties.
- Cars from the fifties look very different.
- People smoked a lot in the fifties.
- This photo is from the late fifties.
- Many new homes were built in the fifties.
Noun
B1
entity
5
banknote worth fifty units
A money note worth 50 dollars, 50 pounds, or another money unit.
Usage pattern:
[pay] with a fifty
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize that “a fifty” by itself can mean a banknote, and may unnecessarily add “note” or “bill” every time. In many contexts, “a fifty” is enough: “Can you break a fifty?” is natural.
Synonyms
fifty-dollar bill (Specific to US or other dollar currencies; names the same kind of note when the currency is dollars.)
Antonyms
a one (A banknote of much smaller value, often contrasted with larger notes in everyday speech.)
Collocations
a fifty-dollar bill
|a fifty-pound note
|pay with a fifty
|two fifties
|break a fifty
Themes
money
|daily life
|finance
|daily_life
Examples
- He paid for the meal with a fifty.
- Do you have change for a fifty-pound note?
- I only have two fifties in my wallet.
- The ATM gave me a fifty instead of smaller notes.
- She slipped a fifty into the donation box.
Learner examples
- He gave the waiter a fifty.
- I cannot break a fifty, do you have smaller money?
- She put a fifty-dollar bill on the table.
- The bank machine gave me one fifty and two tens.
- I paid with a fifty and got coins back.
Noun
technical
C1
quantity
6
cricket score of fifty runs
In cricket, a player’s score of 50 to 99 runs in one innings.
Usage pattern:
score a fifty
Common mistake:
Non-cricket speakers may wrongly assume “a fifty” always refers to money. In sports news about cricket, “a fifty” almost always refers to a score of runs, not cash.
Synonyms
half-century (Standard cricket term for the same range of runs; slightly more formal and common in written commentary.)
Antonyms
duck (Cricket term for a score of zero runs, often seen as the opposite of a good score like a fifty.)
Collocations
score a fifty
|hit a quick fifty
|an unbeaten fifty
|back-to-back fifties
|a well-made fifty
Themes
sports
Examples
- She scored a brilliant fifty in yesterday’s match.
- It was his third consecutive fifty in the tournament.
- He fell just short of a fifty when he was out on 48.
- The opener’s quick fifty set up an easy win.
- An unbeaten fifty from the captain guided them home.
Learner examples
- The player made a fifty in the game.
- He was happy after scoring his first fifty.
- She hit a fast fifty for her team.
- The captain’s fifty helped them win.
- He wants to score a fifty in every match.
Grammar
Dictionary form
fifty
IPA
GB/fˈɪfti/
US/fˈɪfti/
Syllables & stress
fifty (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (fifty)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: fifty
- Comparative: fiftier
- Superlative: fiftiest
Noun
- Base: fifty
- Plural: fifties
Word family
Expressions
fifty-fifty
1/fˈɪfti fˈɪfti/
fixed phrase
equally divided or equally likely
Half and half; each side gets the same amount, or each has the same chance.
Examples
- We went fifty-fifty on the bill at the restaurant.
- It’s about fifty-fifty whether it will rain tomorrow.
- The votes were split fifty-fifty between the two candidates.
the big five-oh
1/ðə bˈɪɡ fˈaɪv ˈoʊ/
idiom
informal
someone’s fiftieth birthday
A fun, informal way to say someone’s 50th birthday.
Examples
- He’s turning the big five-oh next week, so we’re planning a surprise party.
- She doesn’t want to talk about the big five-oh coming up this year.