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.
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 Gaga is thirty-eight now—a grande dame in pop years. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025 The Sisters of Mary Morning Star are much younger—the average age is thirty-eight. Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025 The film also features thirty-eight top New York and Latvian theater actors in supporting roles, adding depth and authenticity to the project. Jamie Lang, Variety, 30 Jan. 2025 Of the thirty-eight per cent of Americans who are eligible to donate, less than three per cent regularly do. Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025 That said, Wisconsin’s voter turnout was the highest in the country, at nearly seventy-seven per cent, and Harris received thirty-eight thousand more votes than Biden did four years ago, only to lose to Trump by twenty-nine thousand. Peter Slevin, The New Yorker, 30 Dec. 2024 The per-capita income in Sierra County is less than thirty-eight thousand dollars a year. Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024

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 23 Apr. 2025.

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