ordinal number

• 1Constituting number six in a sequence; 6th.

  ‘her sixth novel’

  More example sentences

  • ‘the sixth of the month’
  • ‘to the original five categories we add a sixth’
  • ‘I had realised some time ago, after completing my sixth novel, The Juicy Beaks, that I wasn't much of a writer.’
  • ‘In his sixth novel, Harvey layers narratives and characters on top of one another.’
  • ‘In 1997, pneumonia and influenza constituted the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.’
  • ‘She's married to another author and is working on her sixth novel.’
  • ‘Pete Dexter's sixth novel, Train, begins slowly, for about the first 50 pages.’
  • ‘Giants of the Frost, as well as being my sixth novel for adults and written under contract, is part of a doctoral research degree in creative writing.’
  • ‘This month may become a tiring month for sixth graders of elementary schools as they have to take two consecutive examinations to graduate and become eligible for junior high school.’
  • ‘Businesses cut jobs for the sixth month in a row.’
  • ‘Despite the closure, Yunus said that classes had to continue because next month the sixth graders would have an examination.’
  • ‘By the sixth month should any student wish to withdraw some cash from their account they can do so in the normal way from the credit union offices.’
  • ‘After five days of sunshine at the beginning of the month, the sixth saw overcast skies and rain as the result of a trough of low pressure.’
  • ‘The Nationwide Building Society has announced that house prices have remained stable for the sixth month in a row.’
  • ‘She also told me that she is on a sixth month contract, and as such is not an employee.’
  • ‘Eastwood is reckoned to be the sixth most Jewish constituency in the UK, with roughly 80% of the total population of Scotland's Jews.’
  • ‘In July, payrolls fell for the sixth month in a row.’
  • ‘The doctor said it would be sixth months after it's rebroken before I can ride again.’
  • ‘Before his sixth month, he had learned to walk and speak.’
  • ‘Days moved by quickly and pretty soon, Gillian reached her sixth month check up, which this time included an ultrasound.’

  1. 1.1The sixth finisher or position in a race or competition.
     ‘he could only finish sixth’
     More example sentences

     • ‘He is in good position with a sixth overall and nine races to go.’
     • ‘He is the only Cup driver who has finished every race and is in sixth place after finishing 20th Sunday at Dover.’
     • ‘He said the players who went for last year's championship in Namibia complained that they could have finished better than sixth position had they been dressed properly.’
     • ‘Maimbo Malako from Finish Line was in sixth position.’
     • ‘But if we can finish around sixth position, it is good for the first year.’
     • ‘Entering this season, Benson set a goal of finishing no worse than sixth in the points race.’
     • ‘He rejoined the race in sixth place but fought back to finish in fifth place and had to settle for picking up championship points.’
     • ‘Allan McNish finished the race in sixth place, thus scoring points for the second time in a row.’
     • ‘Overall that season, he finished between fourth and sixth place in six races and ended up eighth in the World Championship standings.’
     • ‘Some guys try to race you side by side for three or four laps, and they end up racing you for sixth place.’
     • ‘Huddersfield, of course, can render both results meaningless if they themselves gain a victory and maintain their position in sixth place.’
     • ‘She was sixth overall in this race last year as a first year intermediate so her prospects for this year's championships are excellent.’
     • ‘Hewitt is sixth in the Champions Race that will produce the new number one for the year at the end of the season.’
     • ‘Kenya have taken up the fourth place ahead of Zambia who are fifth while Malawi is in sixth position and Swaziland is placed seventh.’
     • ‘Two hundred metres later, Mary crossed the finish line in sixth position, hardly a blip on the Olympic screen.’
     • ‘The men's team defend the title they won on Tyneside, while the women look to improve on sixth position.’
     • ‘His first full season at the helm was a rewarding experience as he led the Canaries to the play off finals after helping them to a sixth place finish.’
     • ‘Tom Waddell, a 30-year-old army physician, comes sixth in the Olympic decathlon.’
     • ‘Martina ran strongly to finish with silver and Sinead displayed great endurance as she battled to finish in sixth position.’
     • ‘Dolphin had their share of problems last year before making a late surge and finishing in sixth position.’
  2. 1.2British The sixth form of a school or college.
     ‘the naughtiest girl in the sixth’
     More example sentences

     • ‘As he spoke, they cackled and jeered, like the lower sixth at some public school debate.’
     • ‘The school allows pupils in the upper sixth to have one or two glasses of wine with a meal on a Saturday or Sunday.’
     • ‘I was in the lower sixth at the time and, as a girl in a northern comprehensive, I was actively discouraged by my teachers from making an Oxford application.’
     • ‘Boys and girls from the school's year 10 to the upper sixth were on the trip.’
     • ‘Trident is employing sixth formers to clean the corridors in the schools where they are students.’
  3. 1.3Sixthly (used to introduce a sixth point or reason)
     More example sentences

     • ‘sixth, given all the facts there is no logical reason why we can't make a decision’
  4. 1.4Music An interval spanning six consecutive notes in a diatonic major or minor scale, e.g. C to A (major sixth) or A to F (minor sixth).
     ‘I only played three carefully considered notes with intuitive regard to choice of rhythm, tempo, dynamics - using a poignant interval, the minor sixth resolving to the perfect fifth.’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Practicing fourths and consecutive sevenths challenges the ear in ways that sixths and thirds don't, in addition to enhancing hand stability.’
     • ‘After 2 bars piano chords come in, which will form the basis of the verse and chorus melody; these sound like minor sixths a step or so apart.’
  5. 1.5Music The note which is higher by a sixth than the tonic of a scale or root of a chord.

• 2Each of six equal parts into which something is or may be divided.

  ‘a sixth of the total population’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Trim off the tough outer stems and stalk of the fennel, then cut each bulb in half and each half into sixths.’
  • ‘Electronics giant Siemens, for example, employs 70,000 people in the U.S., nearly a sixth of total staff.’
  • ‘Cut the tomatoes into quarters or sixths depending on size.’
  • ‘Approximately one sixth of the population is thought to be working in the black market.’
  • ‘Less than one sixth of the population are natives of the principality.’
  • ‘Nearly one sixth of the U.S. population lacks health insurance, including about 44 % of poor people.’