Meaning & use
XVIII
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Meaning
number
The Roman numeral for the number 18, used in formal or historical contexts.
Grammar: Used before nouns or alone: XVIII century, chapter XVIII.
Patterns
- XVIII century
- chapter XVIII
- XVIII (alone)
The cornerstone of the old library is inscribed with the year MDCCCXVIII.
In the table of contents, the final chapter is listed as XVIII.
The clock tower shows the hour as XVIII on its face instead of 6 p.m.
Common combinations
- XVIII century
- The XVIII century saw many advances in science.
- chapter XVIII
- Please read chapter XVIII for tomorrow's class.
- year XVIII
- The monument was built in the year XVIII of the emperor's reign.
- volume XVIII
- The encyclopedia's volume XVIII covers topics from Q to S.
Synonyms and how they differ
- 18
- The Arabic numeral is used in everyday writing and calculations, while XVIII is reserved for formal or traditional contexts.
- eighteen
- The word 'eighteen' is used in speech and ordinary writing; XVIII is its Roman numeral equivalent.
Word family
- XIX number
- The Roman numeral for 19.
- XVII number
- The Roman numeral for 17.
Commonly confused: XVIII or XVII? XVIII or XXVIII?
XVIII vs XVII
XVII is 17, while XVIII is 18. The extra 'I' before the 'X' makes the difference.
XVIII vs XXVIII
XXVIII is 28, which has two 'X's at the beginning; XVIII has only one.
Practice
Which number does the Roman numeral XVIII represent?
Choose one answer.
XVIII is 10 (X) + 5 (V) + 3 (III) = 18. Option 0 (17) would be XVII, option 2 (19) is XIX, and option 3 (28) is XXVIII.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “XVIII”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.