Forty or Fourty: Correct Spelling, Meaning, Number Usage, and Examples Explained Clearly

The correct spelling is forty. Fourty is a common misspelling and should not be used in standard English. Even though the number four has a u, the word forty drops the u. Use forty when writing the number 40 in words.

Quick Answer

Use forty, not fourty.

• Correct: She turned forty last month.
• Incorrect: She turned fourty last month.

Forty is the standard spelling of the number 40. Fourty is a spelling mistake.

Forty or Fourty: Which One Is Correct?

Forty is correct. Fourty is incorrect.

This spelling mistake is understandable because the word four includes a u. Many writers expect the number 40 to keep the same spelling pattern and become fourty. However, English does not spell it that way. The correct form is forty, with no u.

Word	Correct?	Meaning
Forty	Yes	The written form of the number 40
Fourty	No	A common misspelling of forty

If you are writing a sentence, date, age, amount, score, measurement, or number in words, the spelling you need is always forty.

What Does Forty Mean?

Forty means the number 40. It comes after thirty-nine and before forty-one. You can use it to describe age, quantity, time, money, measurements, percentages, scores, dates, and many other number-related ideas.

Examples:

• He is forty years old.
• There were forty people in the room.
• The trip took forty minutes.
• She saved forty dollars.
• The recipe makes forty cookies.

In every example, forty means 40. The spelling stays the same whether the word appears in a sentence, title, label, story, article, or formal document.

Why Fourty Is Incorrect

Fourty is incorrect because the standard spelling of the number 40 is forty. The word drops the u from four.

The confusion comes from the spelling of related number words:

• four
• fourteen
• fourth

These words all keep the u. Because of that, fourty may look logical. But the spelling of forty is different. It is one of those English words you simply need to remember.

Think of it this way:

• four has a u
• forty does not have a u

The correct spelling is short and simple: f-o-r-t-y.

Examples of Forty in Sentences

Here are natural examples of forty used correctly:

• She waited forty minutes for the train.
• The class has forty students.
• He walked forty miles over three days.
• The jacket costs forty dollars.
• They invited forty guests to the wedding.
• The book has forty chapters.
• She answered forty questions correctly.
• The company has been open for forty years.

These examples show that forty works like any other number word. It can describe people, things, time, distance, money, years, or amounts.

Forty in Ages

Forty is often used when talking about age. When writing someone’s age in words, use forty without a u.

Examples:

• My brother is forty.
• She turned forty in June.
• He looks younger than forty.
• Life after forty can bring new confidence.

If the age is used before a noun as a compound adjective, use hyphens:

• She is a forty-year-old teacher.
• He wrote about his forty-year-old memories.

But if the age comes after the noun, do not use hyphens:

• She is forty years old.
• The building is forty years old.

Forty in Money and Measurements

Forty is also common when writing about money, measurements, distance, weight, and time.

Examples:

• The meal cost forty dollars.
• The box weighs forty pounds.
• The road is forty miles long.
• The meeting lasted forty minutes.
• The room is about forty feet wide.

In formal writing, you may choose between spelling out the number and using numerals depending on your style guide. For a casual article, both forty dollars and $40 can work. The important point is that if you spell out the number, write forty, not fourty.

Forty-One, Forty-Two, and Other Compound Numbers

When forty is part of a compound number from 41 to 49, the spelling still stays the same. You do not add a u.

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

Examples:

• There are forty-two chairs in the hall.
• She finished the race in forty-five minutes.
• The school has forty-eight teachers.

Use a hyphen in compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine when they are written as words. That means forty-two, not forty two, in most standard writing.

Forty vs Fourth

Forty and fourth are easy to mix up because they both relate to the number four, but they mean different things.

Forty means 40.

• There are forty books on the shelf.

Fourth means number 4 in order.

• She finished in fourth place.

The word fourth keeps the u, but forty does not. That difference is one reason fourty feels tempting, but it is still wrong.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The biggest mistake is writing fourty instead of forty.

Incorrect:

• He is fourty years old.
• The class has fourty students.
• The trip lasted fourty minutes.

Correct:

• He is forty years old.
• The class has forty students.
• The trip lasted forty minutes.

Another mistake is using fourty in compound numbers.

Incorrect:

• Fourty-two people attended.

Correct:

• Forty-two people attended.

If the number begins with 40, the word begins with forty.

How to Remember Forty

Here is an easy way to remember the correct spelling:

Forty lost the u.

Even though four has a u, forty does not. You can remember it this way:

• four = 4
• forty = 40
• fourty = incorrect

You can also remember this sentence:

At forty, the u is gone.

That short reminder can help you avoid the common misspelling.

Final Answer

Forty is the correct spelling of the number 40. Fourty is a common misspelling and should be avoided. Although four has a u, forty drops it. Use forty in ages, amounts, measurements, money, time, and compound numbers such as forty-one and forty-two.