Phrase guide

four score and seven years ago

adv · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfɔː skɔː‿ɹən ˌsɛvən jɪəz əˌɡəʊ/
  • General-American: /ˈfɔɹ skɔɹ ən ˌsɛvən jɪɹz əˌɡoʊ/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adv

Meaning 1

Used (sometimes sarcastically) to indicate that a past event being mentioned is particularly important: a long time ago; many years ago.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: humorous, idiomatic, not-comparable, often

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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.