4th
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective 1. Ordinal number for four: Denoting position in a sequence as number four, following the third and preceding the fifth. 2. Constituting number four in a series: Used to identify the item in the fourth position.
Usage
- Used before a noun to indicate its position in an ordered sequence.
- Often written as "4th" in numeric form or "fourth" in text.
- Commonly used in dates, rankings, fractions, and lists.
Examples
- General Sequence:
- She finished in 4th place in the race.
- This is the 4th chapter of the book.
- Dates:
- Independence Day is celebrated on the 4th of July.
- Fractions:
- A quarter is one 4th of a whole.
Advanced Usage
- "the fourth estate": A collective term for the press and news media, seen as a distinct social or political force.
- Journalists are often referred to as members of the fourth estate.
- "fourth dimension": A theoretical dimension beyond the three spatial dimensions, often associated with time in physics.
- In his theory, time acts as the fourth dimension.
Variants and Related Words
- Fourthly (adverb): Used to introduce a fourth point or item.
- Fourthly, we must consider the long-term costs.
- Fourth (noun): The ordinal number matching the number four in a series; also, one of four equal parts (a quarter).
- He was the fourth to arrive.
- Cut the pie into fourths.
Synonyms
- Quaternary (adj.): A formal synonym, especially used in technical contexts like geology.
- The quaternary period is the current geologic time period.
Related Phrases
- Fourth wall (noun): In theater, film, and literature, the imaginary wall separating the performers/characters from the audience. Breaking the fourth wall involves directly addressing the audience.
- The actor broke the fourth wall by looking at the camera and speaking to us.
Idioms
- Give someone the third degree: (Note: While "third degree" is a common idiom, there is no directly equivalent common idiom using "fourth." This is listed for contrast and clarity regarding ordinal idioms).
- On all fours: On hands and knees. (This idiom uses the cardinal number "four" and not the ordinal "fourth").
Adjective
- coming next after the third and just before the fifth in position or time or degree or magnitude
- the quaternary period of geologic time extends from the end of the tertiary period to the present