Forty vs. Fourty: Correct Spelling, Meaning, and Examples

Fourty vs forty has one simple answer: forty is the correct spelling of the number 40, while fourty is a common misspelling. This rule applies in both American English and British English. Although four contains the letter u, that letter disappears when you write forty.

The word forty is a cardinal number that expresses quantity. It can appear before a noun, as in “forty students,” or stand alone, as in “Only forty attended.” You should also use the same spelling in compound numbers, such as forty-one and forty-four.

Related forms follow specific rules. Write fortieth for 40th and forties when discussing ages from 40 to 49. Understanding these forms will help you avoid spelling errors in schoolwork, emails, professional documents, and everyday writing.

Quick Answer: Is It Forty or Fourty?

The correct spelling is forty. Don’t place a u between the o and r.

Form	Status	Example
forty	Correct	The class has forty students.
fourty	Incorrect	The class has fourty students.
40	Correct numeral	The class has 40 students.
fortieth	Correct ordinal	Today is her fortieth birthday.
fourtieth	Incorrect	Today is her fourtieth birthday.
forties	Correct plural form	He’s in his early forties.
forty’s	Usually incorrect as a plural	He’s in his early forty’s.

The easiest rule to remember is:

Four has a “u,” but forty doesn’t.

This spelling may seem inconsistent. However, English contains many words whose modern forms no longer match their closest relatives exactly.

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Forty vs. Fourty: What Is the Difference?

The difference between forty and fourty is spelling accuracy. They aren’t two words with different meanings, regional uses, or grammar functions.

Forty is the standard written form of the number 40. In contrast, fourty is a common spelling error caused by an understandable connection with the word four.

Consider these examples:

• Correct: We invited forty people to the event.
• Incorrect: We invited fourty people to the event.
• Correct: The repair will cost forty dollars.
• Incorrect: The repair will cost fourty dollars.
• Correct: She finished the race in forty minutes.
• Incorrect: She finished the race in fourty minutes.

Changing forty to fourty doesn’t create a new meaning. It simply makes the spelling incorrect under modern English standards.

What Does Forty Mean?

Forty is the number that comes after thirty-nine and before forty-one. Its numeral form is 40.

It represents:

• Four groups of ten
• Ten multiplied by four
• Two groups of twenty
• A quantity one greater than thirty-nine
• An age, amount, measurement, position, or other numerical value

For example:

• There are forty chairs in the conference room.
• My commute takes forty minutes.
• The temperature dropped to forty degrees.
• Nearly forty people applied for the position.
• She turned forty in May.

In each sentence, forty expresses the value 40.

What Part of Speech Is Forty?

The grammar role of forty depends on its position and function in a sentence. It can work as a determiner, pronoun, noun, or part of an adjective phrase.

Grammar role	How it functions	Example
Determiner	Specifies the quantity of a noun	Forty employees attended.
Pronoun	Replaces an understood noun phrase	We ordered fifty, but only forty arrived.
Noun	Names the number itself	Forty is an even number.
Part of a compound adjective	Modifies a noun with another word	It was a forty-minute meeting.

You don’t need to memorize these labels to use the word correctly. Still, they help explain why forty appears in several sentence patterns.

Is Fourty Ever Correct?

In standard modern English, fourty isn’t correct. You shouldn’t use it in school assignments, business documents, applications, emails, articles, or social media posts.

Forms resembling fourty appeared during earlier stages of English, before spelling became standardized. Historical variation, however, doesn’t make fourty acceptable in present-day writing.

A historical spelling can be relevant when quoting an old text exactly. Otherwise, the correct modern form is always forty.

Why Is Forty Spelled Without a U?

Writers commonly ask why forty loses the u found in four. The short answer is that the spelling developed through the history of English.

The number had earlier forms in Old English and Middle English. During those periods, pronunciation and spelling varied widely. English didn’t yet have one fixed spelling system, so scribes often wrote the same word in different ways.

Over time, the form forty became established as the standard spelling. Although it remained connected to four, it didn’t preserve the exact spelling of that word.

Therefore, modern English gives us this pattern:

• four
• fourteen
• fourth
• forty
• fortieth

The pattern may look unusual, but forty isn’t an optional variation. It’s the standardized form.

Why Do Four and Fourteen Keep the U?

The words four and fourteen developed along different spelling paths from forty. Related words often change in separate ways because pronunciation, stress, and common usage affect their development.

For instance, the first part of fourteen is pronounced more clearly as four. The spelling reflects that close connection. In forty, however, the word became shorter in both sound and spelling.

Modern spelling doesn’t require every member of a word family to retain the same letters. As a result, you can’t always spell one word by copying a related form.

Compare the correct forms:

Number	Correct word	Incorrect form
4	four	for
14	fourteen	forteen
40	forty	fourty
40th	fortieth	fourtieth

The unusual member of this group is forty, but its spelling is firmly established.

Is Fourty a British Spelling?

Fourty isn’t a British spelling. Both American and British English use forty.

Some words legitimately differ across the two varieties:

American English	British English
color	colour
favor	favour
humor	humour
labor	labour

That regional pattern may lead someone to assume that fourty is British. However, number words don’t follow this particular American-British spelling difference.

Therefore:

• American English: forty
• British English: forty
• Canadian English: forty
• Australian English: forty

The spelling remains the same across these major varieties.

How to Use Forty in a Sentence

You can use forty whenever you need to write the number 40 in words. It commonly appears before a noun, on its own, or inside a compound expression.

Forty Before a Countable Noun

A countable noun refers to something you can count individually. When forty comes before one, the noun normally takes a plural form.

• forty books
• forty students
• forty houses
• forty questions
• forty miles

For example:

• The teacher prepared forty questions for the final exam.
• Our company hired forty employees last year.
• The library received forty new books.
• We drove forty miles before stopping.
• More than forty customers visited the store that morning.

Because the quantity is greater than one, the following countable noun is plural.

Correct: She bought forty ticket.

Correction: She bought forty tickets.

The first version is wrong because ticket should agree with the plural quantity.

Forty as a Standalone Number

Sometimes, the noun is already clear from the context. In that case, forty can stand alone.

• We needed sixty chairs, but the supplier delivered only forty.
• How many applicants passed? Forty.
• She looks younger than forty.
• Divide eighty by two, and you get forty.

Here, readers understand what the number represents without seeing a noun immediately after it.

Forty as the Subject of a Sentence

The number itself can act as the subject.

• Forty is an even number.
• Forty comes after thirty-nine.
• Forty was the correct answer.

When the sentence refers to 40 as one numerical value, use a singular verb:

• Correct: Forty is divisible by eight.
• Incorrect: Forty are divisible by eight.

However, a phrase containing forty may take a plural verb when it refers to separate people or objects:

• Forty students are waiting outside.
• Forty packages have arrived.

The verb agrees with students or packages, not with the written number alone.

Using Forty for Ages

Age expressions involving forty follow different grammar and punctuation patterns. The correct structure depends on whether the age follows a linking verb or comes directly before a noun.

Forty Years Old

Use forty years old after forms of be, turn, or similar verbs.

• She is forty years old.
• Daniel turned forty yesterday.
• The building is forty years old.
• My supervisor will be forty next month.

Don’t add hyphens to forty years old when it follows the person or thing it describes.

Correct: The bridge is forty years old.

Incorrect: The bridge is forty-years-old.

A Forty-Year-Old Person

When the entire age expression appears before a noun, use hyphens. Also, keep year singular.

• a forty-year-old teacher
• a forty-year-old building
• a forty-year-old tradition

For example:

• A forty-year-old employee applied for the management position.
• They renovated a forty-year-old house.
• The museum displayed a forty-year-old photograph.

The hyphens show that the words work together as one modifier.

Compare the two patterns:

Position	Correct form	Example
After the noun	No hyphens	The house is forty years old.
Before the noun	Hyphenated; “year” is singular	It is a forty-year-old house.
Used as a noun	Hyphenated	The forty-year-old won the race.

Incorrect: She is a forty-years-old manager.

Correct: She is a forty-year-old manager.

The plural years is incorrect inside this compound modifier.

Using Forty With Money, Time, and Measurements

Forty often appears with units of money, time, distance, weight, and temperature.

Money

• The book costs forty dollars.
• I borrowed forty cents.
• They donated forty thousand dollars.

Time

• The presentation lasted forty minutes.
• We waited for forty seconds.
• The project required forty hours of work.

Distance and Measurement

• The nearest station is forty miles away.
• The table is forty inches wide.
• The package weighs forty pounds.

Percentages

• Forty percent of the respondents selected the first option.
• Sales increased by 40% during the quarter.
• The battery is at forty percent.

Both forty percent and 40% can be correct. Your choice depends on the context and style guidelines.

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Forty or 40: Which Form Should You Use?

Both forty and 40 represent the same value. The question is whether the context favors a word or a numeral.

General writing conventions often spell out small numbers and use numerals for larger ones. However, the exact dividing point varies by style guide. Some systems spell out numbers from zero through nine, while others spell out numbers through one hundred.

For that reason, forty may appear as a word in one publication and as 40 in another. Neither choice is automatically wrong.

When Forty Works Well

Writing the number as forty often suits:

• The beginning of a sentence
• Dialogue and narrative writing
• Informal explanations
• Nontechnical prose
• Contexts where a style guide asks writers to spell out numbers

Examples:

• Forty volunteers helped clean the park.
• “I’ve called you forty times,” Maya joked.
• The family had lived there for forty years.

When 40 Works Well

The numeral 40 is usually easier to scan in:

• Tables and charts
• Scientific measurements
• Statistics
• Financial reports
• Technical documents
• Recipes
• Scores
• Ages in forms and profiles
• Dates and deadlines

Examples:

• The sample weighed 40 g.
• Revenue increased by 40%.
• Set the timer for 40 minutes.
• Applicants must be at least 40 years old.

Numbers at the Beginning of a Sentence

Many writing styles recommend spelling out a number that begins a sentence.

• Better: Forty employees attended the workshop.
• Awkward: 40 employees attended the workshop.

If spelling out the number creates a long or clumsy sentence, rewrite it:

• Awkward: Forty-two thousand six hundred applications were received.
• Better: The organization received 42,600 applications.

The rewritten version is shorter and easier to read.

Keep the Style Consistent

Consistency matters when similar numbers appear together.

Less consistent:

• The first group had forty members, while the second had 55.

More consistent:

• The first group had 40 members, while the second had 55.

The first version isn’t necessarily ungrammatical. Still, using the same format makes the comparison easier to follow.

Hyphenation Rules for Numbers Containing Forty

Use a hyphen in written compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine when the number isn’t an exact multiple of ten.

Therefore, numbers from 41 to 49 take a hyphen:

• forty-one
• forty-two
• forty-three
• forty-four
• forty-five
• forty-six
• forty-seven
• forty-eight
• forty-nine

Don’t write them as two separate words.

Incorrect: We received forty five applications.

Correct: We received forty-five applications.

Also, don’t hyphenate forty when it appears alone:

• Correct: forty people
• Incorrect: forty-people

Compound Numbers Greater Than One Hundred

In a longer number, hyphenate only the compound portion that requires it.

• one hundred forty-two
• two hundred forty-five
• one thousand forty-eight

American English often omits and in whole numbers:

• American style: one hundred forty-two
• Common British style: one hundred and forty-two

Both patterns can be understood, but American formal writing generally favors the version without and for whole numbers.

Forty in Compound Adjectives

A number and unit placed before a noun usually form a compound adjective. Hyphenate the words so readers can see that they function as one modifier.

• a forty-page report
• a forty-minute meeting
• a forty-mile trip
• a forty-hour workweek
• a forty-dollar fee

The unit remains singular inside the compound adjective.

Correct: We attended a forty-minute meeting.

Incorrect: We attended a forty-minutes meeting.

When the expression follows the noun, the structure changes:

• The report is forty pages long.
• The meeting lasted forty minutes.
• The trip covered forty miles.
• The fee was forty dollars.

These phrases don’t need hyphens because they no longer appear directly before a noun as a single modifier.

Fortieth: The Correct Form of 40th

The ordinal form of forty is fortieth, which corresponds to 40th. An ordinal number indicates position or order.

Examples include:

• her fortieth birthday
• the fortieth anniversary
• the fortieth page
• our fortieth customer
• his fortieth day at work

To form fortieth, the final y in forty changes to ie before the ending -th:

forty → fortieth

The following spellings are incorrect:

• fourtieth
• fortyth
• fortyeth

Compare these forms:

Cardinal number	Ordinal number	Numeral
twenty	twentieth	20th
thirty	thirtieth	30th
forty	fortieth	40th
fifty	fiftieth	50th

The same spelling pattern appears in other multiples of ten ending in -y.

Forties: The Correct Plural Form

Use forties when referring to several instances of the number forty or to the ages between 40 and 49.

Examples:

• Most participants were in their forties.
• She began a new career in her early forties.
• The temperature stayed in the low forties.
• His test scores were mostly in the forties.

To form forties, change the final y to ie and add s:

forty → forties

Don’t use an apostrophe to create this plural.

• Correct: She is in her forties.
• Incorrect: She is in her forty’s.

An apostrophe normally marks possession or omitted letters. It doesn’t form the regular plural of forty.

Early, Mid-, and Late Forties

These expressions describe different parts of the 40–49 age range:

• early forties: usually about ages 40–43
• mid-forties: usually about ages 44–46
• late forties: usually about ages 47–49

Usage isn’t mathematically fixed, so the boundaries can vary slightly.

Examples:

• He’s in his early forties.
• The candidate appeared to be in her mid-forties.
• My parents were in their late forties at the time.

Many style conventions hyphenate mid-forties but leave early forties and late forties open.

How to Write Decades Correctly

A decade can be written with four digits or in words.

• the 1940s
• the nineteen forties
• the ’40s

Don’t place an apostrophe before the final s:

• Correct: Music changed significantly during the 1940s.
• Incorrect: Music changed significantly during the 1940’s.

In ’40s, the apostrophe before 40 represents the omitted digits 19. The final s still forms the plural and doesn’t require an apostrophe.

However, the shortened form can be unclear because ’40s might refer to the 1840s, 1940s, or another century. Use 1940s when the century isn’t obvious.

Common Expressions Using Forty

Several established English expressions contain forty.

Forty Winks

Forty winks means a short sleep or nap. The number isn’t meant literally.

• I took forty winks before the evening meeting.
• After lunch, he went upstairs for forty winks.

This expression is informal and may sound playful or slightly old-fashioned in American conversation.

Two Score

A score means twenty. Therefore, two score equals forty.

• Two score equals forty.
• The expression two score years means forty years.

This wording now sounds literary, historical, or old-fashioned. In everyday American English, simply use forty.

Life Begins at Forty

The saying life begins at forty suggests that people can find new confidence, freedom, or opportunities in middle age.

It’s an expression, not a grammar rule or factual age boundary. Still, it demonstrates how forty appears in familiar cultural language.

Synonyms and Related Words for Forty

Exact synonyms for numbers are limited because each number represents a precise value. However, several expressions can represent or relate to 40.

Word or expression	Meaning or relationship
40	The numeral form of forty
four tens	Four groups of ten
two score	Two groups of twenty
fortieth	The ordinal form meaning 40th
forties	The plural or the range from 40 to 49
fortyfold	Forty times as much or as many
quadragenarian	A person between 40 and 49 years old

Quadragenarian is accurate but uncommon in everyday speech. Most Americans would say a person in their forties.

Similarly, two score isn’t a natural replacement for forty in normal writing. It works mainly in historical, literary, or intentionally old-fashioned contexts.

Real-Life Examples of Forty

The following examples show how the word appears in common American settings.

School and Academic Writing

• The professor assigned forty pages of reading.
• Our class contains forty-two students.
• The correct answer appears on the fortieth page.
• Researchers collected data from 40 participants.

Academic writing may use either words or numerals according to the required style guide.

Workplace Communication

• The team completed forty projects last year.
• Please limit the presentation to forty minutes.
• Employees work a standard forty-hour week.
• We received forty-five applications for the role.

A business report may favor numerals, especially when presenting data. A regular email may use either form.

Money and Shopping

• The jacket costs forty dollars.
• I saved 40% during the sale.
• Each guest paid a forty-dollar fee.
• The final bill came to $40.

Don’t combine a currency symbol with the written word:

• Incorrect: $forty
• Correct: forty dollars
• Correct: $40

Texting and Social Media

• I’ll be there in forty minutes.
• Can you send me 40 dollars?
• I can’t believe I’m turning forty!

Casual writing allows flexibility between words and numerals. Nevertheless, fourty remains a misspelling.

Dates and Anniversaries

• The couple celebrated their fortieth anniversary.
• This is the company’s 40th year in business.
• They published a special fortieth-anniversary edition.

When fortieth-anniversary modifies a noun, the compound expression may be hyphenated for clarity.

Correct and Incorrect Examples

Incorrect sentence	Correct sentence	Explanation
She waited fourty minutes.	She waited forty minutes.	Fourty is misspelled.
We invited forty five people.	We invited forty-five people.	Compound numbers need a hyphen.
He celebrated his fourtieth birthday.	He celebrated his fortieth birthday.	The correct ordinal is fortieth.
The course lasts forty-hours.	The course lasts forty hours.	Don’t hyphenate the phrase after the verb.
It is a forty-hours course.	It is a forty-hour course.	Use hyphens and a singular unit before a noun.
She is forty-years-old.	She is forty years old.	A predicate age phrase needs no hyphens.
She is a forty years old teacher.	She is a forty-year-old teacher.	Hyphenate the age before a noun.
He is in his forty’s.	He is in his forties.	Regular plurals don’t take apostrophes.
It happened in the 1940’s.	It happened in the 1940s.	A decade’s plural doesn’t need an apostrophe.
The fee is $forty.	The fee is $40.	A currency symbol must accompany numerals.

Common Forty and Fourty Mistakes

Adding a U Because of Four

The most common mistake is building fourty directly from four.

Incorrect: There are fourty seats.

Correct: There are forty seats.

Although the logic seems reasonable, English spelling doesn’t preserve the u in this word.

Misspelling Fortieth

Writers who use fourty often carry the same error into fourtieth.

Incorrect: This is our fourtieth meeting.

Correct: This is our fortieth meeting.

Start with the correct base forty, change y to ie, and add th.

Forgetting the Hyphen in Forty-One

Written compound numbers need hyphens.

Incorrect: She answered forty two questions.

Correct: She answered forty-two questions.

This rule applies to every number from forty-one through forty-nine.

Adding Unnecessary Hyphens

Not every phrase containing forty requires a hyphen.

Incorrect: The meeting lasted forty-minutes.

Correct: The meeting lasted forty minutes.

Use a hyphen when the expression works as a compound modifier before a noun:

Correct: It was a forty-minute meeting.

Using an Apostrophe to Form Forties

Incorrect: Both managers are in their forty’s.

Correct: Both managers are in their forties.

The apostrophe doesn’t make a word plural. Change y to ie and add s instead.

Grammar Tips for Using Forty Correctly

Use these practical rules when editing your work:

• Spell the number 40 as forty, never fourty.
• Write fortieth for 40th.
• Write forties for ages or values from 40 to 49.
• Hyphenate written numbers such as forty-two.
• Use forty-year-old before a noun.
• Use forty years old after a noun.
• Write 1940s, not 1940’s, for the decade.
• Choose forty or 40 based on context and style.
• Follow one number style consistently in comparisons.
• Use a singular unit inside compound modifiers, as in forty-mile drive.

These rules cover most situations you’ll encounter in school, work, publishing, and everyday communication.

How to Remember the Correct Spelling

A useful memory trick should be short enough to recall while writing.

Four has four letters, but forty drops the “u.”

You can also connect the word to its correct ordinal:

• forty
• fortieth

Both begin with fort-, not fourt-.

Another option is to remember this sentence:

Forty is formed without “four.”

That statement isn’t an explanation of the word’s full history. Instead, it’s a spelling reminder.

Finally, look at the numeral 40 and say the standard spelling aloud: for-tee. The first syllable sounds like for, which may help you remember that no u appears in the written word.

Quick Practice: Forty or Fourty?

Choose the correct form or rewrite each sentence.

• The auditorium holds ___ people.
• My uncle turned ___ last week.
• We completed ___-two exercises.
• She celebrated her ___ birthday.
• The trip took ___ minutes.
• He’s in his early ___.
• It was a ___-mile journey.
• The company opened during the 1940’s.

Answers and Explanations

• The auditorium holds forty people.
• My uncle turned forty last week.
• We completed forty-two exercises.
• She celebrated her fortieth birthday.
• The trip took forty minutes.
• He’s in his early forties.
• It was a forty-mile journey.
• The company opened during the 1940s.

The first two answers test the basic spelling. The third requires a hyphen because forty-two is a compound number. Meanwhile, fortieth and forties require a spelling change at the end of forty.

The seventh answer uses a hyphen because forty-mile modifies journey. Finally, 1940s needs no apostrophe because it’s a plural decade.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Forty vs. Fourty

Conclusion: 

The answer to fourty vs forty is clear: forty is the only standard spelling of the number 40 in modern English. Fourty is incorrect, even though the related words four, fourteen, and fourth keep the letter u.

Remember to write forty, forty-four, fortieth, and forties. These forms are correct in both American English and British English. A useful memory trick is simple: four has a “u,” but forty doesn’t.