ten

1. The number occurring after nine and before eleven, represented in Arabic numerals (base ten) as 10 and in Roman numerals as X.

   A ten frame is a simple graphic tool that allows people to “see” numbers.

   (Can we date this quote?), “What is a Ten Frame and why is it a useful tool for developing early number relationships and fact fluency?”, in Rhodes University, page 1

   1 more example

   There is a melody upon the Earth as though ten thousand streams all sang together for their homes that they had forsaken in the hills.

   1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], “The Sayings of Slid (whose Soul is by the Sea)”, in The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC, page 15

plural tens

1. countableuncountableA set or group with ten elements.

   We divided the chocolates into tens to hand out to Hallowe'en visitors.

   2 more examples

   They can readily state the number of tens in a hundred. But somehow they do not have a full appreciation of the "tenness" of our system and how the system is structured.

   1958 May 28, Carolyn J. Ingham, Joseph N. Payne, “An eighth-grade unit on number systems”, in The Mathematics Teacher, volume 51, number 5, page 392

   Understanding that numbers are composed of tens and ones is an important foundational concept, setting the stage for work with larger numbers.

   (Can we date this quote?), “What is a Ten Frame and why is it a useful tool for developing early number relationships and fact fluency?”, in Rhodes University, page 1

2. countablein pluraluncountableAn inexact quantity, typically understood to be between 20 and 100.

   tens of thousands of voters

   2 more examples

   Our houses are tens of meters apart, so we don't have to worry about noise from our neighbours.

   No trees have grown on the windswept Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean for tens of thousands of years — just shrubs and other low-lying vegetation. That’s why a recent arboreal discovery nearly 20 feet (6 meters) beneath the ground caught researchers’ attention.

   2024 September 27, Katie Hunt, “Scientists discover hidden ancient forest on treeless island”, in CNN

3. countablecard gamesA card in a given suit with a value of ten.
4. countableA denomination of currency, such as a banknote, with a value of ten units.

   Can you give me two tens for this twenty?

   Synonyms: tenner

5. UScountableslangA perfect specimen, (particularly) a physically attractive person.

   An Office Ten is a person who falls somewhere between average to mildly good-looking in the world at large but skyrockets to wildly attractive within the confines of an open-concept desk plan.

   2023 September 11, Danielle Cohen, “Why Am I Attracted to My Coworker? Meet ‘The Office Ten’”, in New York Magazine

   1 more example

   I was in the Woodley Park–Zoo in D.C. and mom and sister were waiting to see the pandas, so me and my pops broke away to check out the monkey house. Well, there was a beautiful teacher, I mean we're talking a ten, she was blond, had a low-cut dress on, just gorgeous. And she has about eight or nine students and she's pointing out all the different monkeys. And me and my dad noticed this huge orangutan kind of fiddling with himself. And on close [censored] And we kept checking it out and he was looking directly at the teacher. Well, a couple minutes passed by [censored] he proceeds to [censored] that's when the teacher noticed and, you know, took the kids away very hurriedly. But I looked at my dad and said, you know, they're so much like us.

   2006 May 9, Penn Jillette, Michael Goudeau, quoting Chris, 22:22 from the start, in Penn Radio

   Synonyms: dime piece

6. UScountableslangA high level of intensity.

   "Intensities in 10 Cities"

   1981 March 2, Intensities in 10 Cities, performed by Ted Nugent

   2 more examples

   ... Marty Di Bergi (Rob Reiner): "Why don't you just make ten louder, and make ten be the top number?" Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest): "These go to eleven."

   1984 March 2, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner (writers), This is Spinal Tap

   ... Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers): "You guys kick ass. You're Double Live Gonzo. Intensities in 10 Cities. Live at Budokan."

   1992 February 14, Mike Myers, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, Wayne's World (film)

7. countablehobbiesThe act of rowing ten strokes flat out.

   Morris gave a ten, and an unbelievable surge ran through the boat, one that I had never felt before.

   1982, Stanley French, Aspects of Downing history, page 105

   1 more example

   At the 1,000-metres post we gave a ten, which raised our lead to 1⅔ lengths; the Belgians were rowing hard, but one felt that they still had plenty of spurting power.

   1911, The Cambridge Review, volume 32, page 486

1. abbreviationhobbiesAbbreviation of Tennessee.

1. abbreviationinitialismuncountablemedicineInitialism of toxic epidermal necrolysis.