eighth

alternative obsolete eight · alternative nonstandard eightth

1. not comparableThe ordinal form of the number eight.

   Consequently, in the initial position the white pieces and pawns are placed on the first and second ranks; the black pieces and pawns on the eighth and seventh ranks.

   2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, archived from the original on 16 Mar 2025, page 21

   1 more example

   In 2023, the birthrate fell for the eighth consecutive year to 0.72, the lowest in the world, from 1.24 in 2015, raising concerns over the economic shock to society from such a rapid pace.

   2025 February 25, “South Korea’s birth rate rose for the first time in 9 years. Is the world’s lowest fertility rate on the rebound?”, in CNN, sourced from Reuters, archived from the original on 06 Jul 2025

   Synonyms: 8th, VIIIth, VIII

plural eighths · alternative obsolete eight · alternative nonstandard eightth

1. The person or thing in the eighth position.

   Synonyms: eighth one

2. One of eight equal parts of a whole.

   Two bits equals two eighths of a dollar.

   2 more examples

   In their original article, Messrs Christie and Schultz found that in 70 of the 100 most heavily traded stocks, Nasdaq dealers avoided quoting prices in odd eighths of a dollar. Buyers were far more likely to quote shares at 28 1/2 or 28 3/4 than at 28 5/8.

   1998 January 15, “Collusion in the Stockmarket”, in The Economist, archived from the original on 11 Aug 2019

   Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania have determined that the young skull is only an eighth as strong as an adult one.

   2000 October 3, Eric Nagourney, “VITAL SIGNS: PROTECTION; A Measure of an Infant Skull's Strength”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 19 Apr 2022

   Synonyms: ⅛, half-quarter, henry, ⅛ oz

3. slangAn eighth of an ounce, or approximately 3.5 grams, of marijuana or other drugs.

   At midday he’d found an ageing eighth of hash in a drawer, a little bundle of cellophane.

   2000, Zadie Smith, White Teeth, London: Penguin Books, published 2001, →ISBN, page 499

4. An interval by doubling in pitch frequency.

   Synonyms: octave

present singular third person eighths · participle present eighthing · participle past eighthed · past eighthed · alternative obsolete eight · alternative nonstandard eightth

1. transitiveTo divide by eight.

   The first step is to eighth the script out. See figure 3.6 overleaf. Eighthing a script is subjective.

   2013, Raindance Producers' Lab Lo-To-No Budget Filmmaking, page 31