50th

50th is the ordinal form of the number 50, used to indicate a position in a sequence. It denotes the item that ranks fiftieth in order. When writing, it appears as 50th in numerals, or as the word fiftieth (often preceded by the or the) in prose. Style guides vary, but both forms are widely understood. In tables, headings, or labels, the numeric 50th is common; in formal sentences, fiftieth is typically preferred.

Common uses include labeling anniversaries, editions, events, and other milestones. The 50th anniversary is frequently described as the golden anniversary, reflecting gold symbolism associated with the milestone. Other examples include the 50th edition of a publication, the 50th birthday, or the 50th state admitted to a federation (for example, the United States). The term also appears in geography with references to the 50th parallel north, a line of latitude.

In statistics and related fields, the 50th percentile is used to denote a median value in many distributions, representing the point below which half the observations fall.

Etymology and orthography: the ordinal suffix -th is added to the numeral, producing 50th, while the full word form is fiftieth. Some contexts favor the abbreviated numeric form for brevity, especially in headings or catalogs, whereas prose often uses the spelled-out form. The concept of “50th” thus spans numerical labeling, milestones, and descriptive categories across various domains.