Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ninety

/ˈnaɪn.di/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.71 in modern English

Syllables
nine-ty
IPA
/ˈnaɪn.di/
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

num

The cardinal number occurring after eighty-nine and before ninety-one, represented in Roman numerals as XC and in Arabic numerals as 90.

Etymology

From Middle English nynty, nynety, from Old English hundniġontiġ, from Proto-Germanic *newuntēhundą (“ninety”), equivalent to nine + -ty. Cognate with Scots nynty, nynety (“ninety”), Saterland Frisian njuugentich (“ninety”), West Frisian njoggentich (“ninety”), Dutch negentig (“ninety”), German Low German negentig (“ninety”), German neunzig (“ninety”), Swedish nittio (“ninety”), Norwegian Bokmål nitti (“ninety”), Norwegian Nynorsk nitti (“ninety”), Icelandic níutíu (“ninety”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: nynty, hundniġontiġ, *newuntēhundą

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈnaɪn.di/
  • British English: /ˈnaɪn.ti/

Derived Forms

ninetyfold ninetyish ninetyodd ninetysomething

Phrases

ninety days ninety-day wonder ninety-eight ninety-eighth ninety-eleven ninety-fifth ninety-first ninety-five

Frequently Paired Words

nine nineteen ninetieth eighty-nine eighty ninety-one hundred

Synonyms

90 XC

Rhymes With

rindy

Questions

How do you pronounce ninety?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈnaɪn.di/.
What does ninety mean?
The cardinal number occurring after eighty-nine and before ninety-one, represented in Roman numerals as XC and in Arabic numerals as 90.
Where does ninety come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce ninety

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ninety”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈnaɪn.di/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ninety”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “ninety” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.