Word.ws English Dictionary

four score and seven years ago

Syllables: four score and se·ven years agoUK/ˈfɔː skɔː‿ɹən ˌsɛvən jɪəz əˌɡəʊ/US/ˈfɔɹ skɔɹ ən ˌsɛvən jɪɹz əˌɡoʊ/

four score and seven years ago adverb: used (sometimes sarcastically) to indicate that a past event being mentioned is particularly important: a long time ago; many years ago.

Adverb

four score and seven years ago (not comparable)

  1. (humorous, idiomatic, often) Used (sometimes sarcastically) to indicate that a past event being mentioned is particularly important: a long time ago; many years ago.
    • It was established four score and seven years ago, and since that time its activities have been intertwined with the internal development of the Nation itself.1936 April 16, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Address at the Dedication of the New Department of the Interior Building
    • I imagined momentarily that it was four score and seven years ago, that I had just been brought forth from my mother […]2010 December 23, Phillip Roth, “Prologue”, in The Great American Novel, →ISBN, page 21

Forms of four score and seven years ago

alternative formfourscore and seven years ago
alternative formfour score seven years ago

Origin of four score and seven years ago

Literally, “87 years ago” (score sense: “group of 20”) the beginning of the Gettysburg Address made on November 19, 1863, by United States President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The widespread familiarity of Lincoln’s address, the unusual and poetic wording, and its status as the first words of the speech have caused the phrase to enter the public consciousness.

Questions about four score and seven years ago

What does four score and seven years ago mean?
Four score and seven years ago means used (sometimes sarcastically) to indicate that a past event being mentioned is particularly important: a long time ago; many years ago.
What part of speech is four score and seven years ago?
Four score and seven years ago is an adverb.
How do you pronounce four score and seven years ago?
Four score and seven years ago is pronounced /ˈfɔː skɔː‿ɹən ˌsɛvən jɪəz əˌɡəʊ/ (UK).

Words near four score and seven years ago in the dictionary

  1. four one one
  2. four penny nail
  3. four penny nails
  4. four pips
  5. four score
  6. four score and seven years ago
  7. four score and ten
  8. four score seven years ago
  9. Four Seasons
  10. four sheets in the wind
  11. four sheets to the wind

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: four score and seven years ago (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-four score and seven years ago.ogg.

Cite this entry: “four score and seven years ago.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/four_score_and_seven_years_ago. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.