Meaning & use
thirteenth
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Meanings
numberbefore a noun
Coming after the twelfth and before the fourteenth in order or position.
Grammar: Used before a noun or alone: the thirteenth floor; she finished thirteenth.
Patterns
- the thirteenth + noun
- the thirteenth of + month
Her office is on the thirteenth floor.
He was the thirteenth person to arrive.
The thirteenth of May is my birthday.
number
One of thirteen equal parts of something.
Grammar: Used in fractions, often written as 1/13.
Patterns
- a thirteenth of something
A thirteenth of the students chose the science course.
The company spends a thirteenth of its budget on training.
Common combinations
- thirteenth floor
- Many buildings in the US skip the thirteenth floor.
- thirteenth century
- The cathedral was built in the thirteenth century.
- on the thirteenth
- The meeting is on the thirteenth of June.
Synonyms and how they differ
- 13th
- The numeral form; use it in dates and addresses, while thirteenth is the written word.
Word family
- thirteen number
- The cardinal number 13.
- thirteenthly adverb
- Rare; used to introduce the thirteenth point in a list.
Commonly confused: thirteenth or thirtieth?
thirteenth vs thirtieth
Thirtieth is the ordinal for 30, while thirteenth is for 13. They look similar but refer to very different numbers.
Practice
Choose the correct word: 'She lives on the ___ floor of the building.'
Choose one answer.
Ordinal numbers like thirteenth are used before a noun to show position in a series. 'Thirteen' is a cardinal number and would mean the floor has the number 13, not its position in order; the plural forms do not fit here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thirteenth”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.