fourth
fourth Lexical Profile
fourth Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Constituting number four in a sequence; coming after the third in time, order, or rank.
"She is currently writing the fourth chapter of her doctoral dissertation."
Constituting one of four equal parts into which something is divided.
"Each partner is entitled to a fourth share of the annual profits."
• noun
The person, item, or rank occupying position number four in a sequence.
"The marathon concluded on the fourth of November."
One of four equal parts of a whole; a quarter.
"Add three fourths of a cup of milk to the dry ingredients."
The fourth forward gear in the transmission of a motor vehicle.
"He shifted smoothly into fourth as the highway opened up ahead."
In music, a melodic or harmonic interval spanning four degrees of a diatonic scale, or the fourth tone of a scale (the subdominant).
"Standard guitar strings are predominantly tuned in intervals of a perfect fourth."
• adverb
In the fourth place, rank, or position in a sequence or list.
"Our relay team finished fourth in the regional championship."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse with the homophone 'forth', an adverb meaning forward or outward in time or space (as in 'back and forth').
• Rhymes for fourth
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English feortha, an ordinal formation derived from Proto-Germanic *feurthon, related to the cardinal number four.