thirty-eight

noun

thir·​ty-eight ˌthər-tē-ˈāt How to pronounce thirty-eight (audio)
1
: a number that is one more than 37 see Table of Numbers
2
: a .38 caliber handgun
usually written .38
thirty-eight adjective
thirty-eight pronoun, plural in construction

Examples of thirty-eight in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Before the All-Star break last week, Raleigh had thirty-eight home runs. Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 20 July 2025 According to Aberdeen Research, a company will spend thirty-eight million dollars a year on unplanned downtime costs, primarily due to human error ( Ryan Arsenault, 2016). Matt Randolph, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025 The winners, chosen by an anonymous five-person panel, range in age from thirty-eight to eighty-two and were selected based on their demonstrated commitment to their respective practices, their unique contributions to their fields, and the consistently high quality of their work. News Desk, Artforum, 8 July 2025 Among young Republicans, defined as those born after 1980, the margin was thirty-eight points. Eyal Press, New Yorker, 30 May 2025 Intisar, who was thirty-eight, was jovial and well known around the neighborhood for having two pairs of twins. Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 19 May 2025 Pedro Escobar Blanco, one of two hundred and thirty-eight Venezuelans deported by the Trump Administration to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador on March 15th, never met the lawyer who is representing him in U.S. immigration court. Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 2 May 2025 But crowds of the devout held nightly recitations of the Rosary in St. Peter’s Square, and he was finally discharged on Sunday, March 23rd, after thirty-eight days. Paul Elie, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2025 John Barelli worked in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s security department for thirty-eight years and served as its chief from 2001 until 2016. Alex Scordelis, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1541, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of thirty-eight was circa 1541

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Cite this Entry

“Thirty-eight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thirty-eight. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

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