1Equivalent to the product of five and two; one more than nine; 10.

1. 1.1 A group or unit of ten people or things.
   count in tens

   Example sentencesExamples

   • His army numbers in the tens of thousands.
   • Cattle numbers plummeted from tens of thousands to mere hundreds.
   • They are the first ten of several dozen commandments delivered to Moses.
   • There is more than enough food in the world to feed everyone, yet tens of thousands of people are starving.
   • People were trickling across, but in the dozens rather than tens of thousands.
   • People count by tens and machines count by twos.
   • Crowds that numbered in their tens of thousands were standing outside the cathedral chanting his name.
   • The opinions of tens of thousands of other scientists don't count, because they're all biased.
   • We have increased by tens of thousands the number of surgical procedures being carried out in this country.
   • It is the favoured destination for tens of thousands of couples.
   • A couple lost tens of thousands of pounds after their close friend admitted fraud.
   • Huge sea turtles numbering in the tens of millions flourished in the Caribbean.
   • Over the past few decades tens of thousands of Irish farming families have been forced off the land.
   • If you apply that cost to tens of thousands of devices, you can see the impact.
   • The Romans represented units, tens, hundreds, and thousands as separate items in their numbers.
   • Tens of thousands of people poured onto the streets to topple a corrupt regime.
   • Police chiefs said closing the unit would save taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds.
   • It's rather odd that time just isn't counted in tens.
   • As the herd is driven slowly past, one man counts the animals in tens while the other writes down the numbers.
   • Companies competed for tens of thousands of new customers.

   Synonyms

   decade
2. 1.2 Ten years old.
   the boy was no more than ten

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Mr Wilson got his first camera when he was about nine or ten.
   • She was a single mother of two children aged ten and eleven-years-old.
   • At about age ten, you and the family set sail for Perth.
   • She will now lead the activities for girls aged from seven to ten in the Brownies.
   • A witness had seen a youth, perhaps aged as young as ten or 11, acting suspiciously.
   • All boys and girls under ten years of age are welcome to participate.
   • The club hopes to expand membership particular among girls and players aged under ten years old.
   • She has sons aged ten and six.
   • Athletes must be ten years of age in order to run in the Championship events.
   • Membership is open to girls between the ages of seven and ten years of age.
   • It was amazing to observe how she entertained the children, who ranged in age from three to ten years old.
   • I'd put their ages at eight and ten.
   • They would go canoeing at a time when the children were all under the age of ten.
   • The couple have eight children from their previous marriages, ranging in age from ten to 18.
   • The riders are all ages, some maybe under ten years of age.
   • In her car were six or seven children, all between the ages of ten an thirteen.
   • The courses are usually attended by groups of youngsters - some aged as young as ten.
   • She began her piano studies at the age of ten.
   • My eldest grandson, aged ten, was my golf partner.
   • Members organised a fancy dress Hallowe'en party for children under ten years of age in the community centre.
3. 1.3 Ten o'clock.
   at about ten at night I got a call

   Example sentencesExamples

   • It was ten o'clock at night, but there wasn't much chance of a rest.
   • Ben was due to fly out that night at ten o'clock.
   • That night, around ten in the evening, he sent me a message.
   • Shortly after ten o'clock the sound of trumpets could be heard outside the house.
   • The next train to Cambridge did not leave until ten o'clock the following morning.
   • Glancing at his watch, he realized that it was almost ten o'clock.
   • They had to work until ten o'clock at night.
   • As we plodded out into the garden about ten o'clock this evening, a thin layer of dark cloud drifted across from the south-east.
   • At ten o'clock tonight I cruised home on the back of a scooter taxi.
   • Arriving back by ten o'clock, we went straight to the sitting room and sat on the sofa.
   • After ten o'clock in the evening there were not many people out on the streets.
   • At ten o'clock, they went back to their rooms and said good night to each other.
   • The party started in the afternoon and continued until ten o'clock the next morning.
   • It was about ten o'clock yesterday evening when the bell tolled.
   • At ten o'clock sharp every night he would go to a bar or a club.
   • It was ten o'clock on a Friday night, and I could think of better places to be.
   • The ceremony continued from four in the morning to ten at night.
   • Hitting the alarm clock he saw it was ten o'clock in the morning.
   • She works from eight o'clock in the morning to ten o'clock at night, six days a week.
   • I started out this morning at ten o'clock.
4. 1.4 A size of garment or other merchandise denoted by ten.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • I was attractive, a size ten and got a lot of attention.
   • It hadn't been easy to find high heels in a size ten.
   • I like to use a size twelve hook, though Lee prefers a size ten.
   • I could wear my size ten and twelve clothes a week after my first daughter was born.
   • I used to be very pretty and could fit into anything that was a size ten.
5. 1.5 A ten-dollar bill.
   he took the money in tens

   Example sentencesExamples

   • She gave me a ten and I gave her five back.
   • He handed the waiter a ten and a twenty.
   • Kelly glared at me before pulling out her wallet and giving me a twenty, a ten, and a one
   • Simon hands the cashier a ten.
   • He paid her with a ten, and walked out
   • He returned and placed a ten, a five, and three ones on the bar
   • She saw two fifty-dollar bills, followed by several twenties, a ten, a five, and four one-dollar-bills
   • I reached into my pocket, searching for a five-dollar bill, but Lance slapped down a ten
   • She could tell exactly how much of that thick stack of cash was of ones, fives, tens, and hundred-dollar bills.
   • I'll use one of my tens and combine our money to buy it for you!
   • She took out her wallet and dug out a fifty-dollar bill, a ten, a five, and three ones
   • He scanned the few bills that he had left - a ten and some ones.
   • Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a ten and I give him his change.
   • I finished my beer and gave the bartender a ten.
   • There were two one dollar bills, one five dollar bill, and two tens - plus three dollars in change.
6. 1.6 A playing card with ten pips.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The kings of diamonds are the highest trumps instead of the tens of hearts.
   • The most valuable cards are aces and tens.
   • The guy makes a big bet and I look down to find a pair of tens.
   • The aces and tens are called sharp cards and are worth 10 points each.
   • If you only have a trio of tens and are sure your opponent has a trio of aces, there is little point in announcing the tens.
   • The tens are taken out of a normal 52 card pack, leaving 48 cards.
   • Four aces, kings, queens or tens are worth 100.
   • On my first night of Internet poker I crushed a seasoned player with a pair of tens.
   • Aces behave like a tens, but can only be played on a jack, queen or king.
   • Kings and tens are worth 10 points each.
   • This pack can be made from two standard 52-card packs by omitting all the tens and picture cards.
   • The object is to capture aces, tens and the last trick.
   • You can play a red ten on a black jack.
   • The ten is placed face up with Jack and Queen on top of it.
   • Anyone who holds the ace, king, queen, jack or ten of hearts takes all the chips.
   • If any of these hand cards are tens or face cards, players can discard some or all of those cards.
   • Take a pack of playing cards and remove the jokers, tens, jacks and queens.
   • The aces, tens and face cards have point values associated with them.
   • The game point goes to the side that wins the ten of trumps in a trick.
   • A hand of tens and jacks usually heralds catastrophe.
7. 1.7a ten Used to indicate that someone has done something well; the highest mark on a scale of one to ten.
   I would have to give them a ten for all the work they did

   Example sentencesExamples

   • It's very difficult to get a ten.
   • She is just a tad shy of a ten
   • The overall production quality of this DVD was exceptional and easily rates a ten.
   • I would give this book a ten.
   • I gave him a ten, but made it clear that nine points were out of pity.
   • She's got wrinkles, and that harried suburban Mom look, but her body's still a ten
   • They run a page rank system where you are marked out of ten.
   • I may not be a ten but the boys say I clean up good.
   • His energy level gets a score of ten, especially for already being on the job at 6:00 in the morning
   • Patients tell me their pain level is a ten.