adage
Americannoun
-
adages
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of adage
1540–50; < French < Latin adagium, equivalent to ad- ad- + ag- (stem of āio I say) + -ium -ium
Explanation
An adage is a saying. Moms and dads love adages such as "early to bed, early to rise" and "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." The noun adage comes from the Latin root aio, meaning "I say." Like a proverb, an adage can be true or not so much. It's a folksy saying that's been passed around for so long that it doesn't even matter if it's true anymore. Adages can be wise and wisecracking, such as this quote from Alice Roosevelt Longworth: "I've always believed in the adage that the secret of eternal youth is arrested development." There's a Book of Proverbs in the Bible, but adages can show up anywhere, even cross-stitched on a pillow.
Vocabulary lists containing adage
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Tragedy of Macbeth
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Perhaps through that old tech-support adage: Turn it off and back on again.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
But, as the old adage goes, you can only beat what is in front of you.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
BAB EL-MANDEB, Yemen — To visit Bab el-Mandeb is to understand that old adage about looks being deceiving.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
Put that adage to the test with stylish, weather-ready finds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
But as if to prove the old adage that nobody is perfect, among other things Gassendi opposed Harvey’s ideas about the circulation of the blood.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
For older Angelenos who knew Lew Wasserman, watching the travails has called to mind one of the grandfather’s adages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
She concluded with one of her favorite adages — that the stars can only be seen when the night sky is dark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024
All those adages seem to make sense because they’ve been around a long time.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2024
One of the traditional adages of conservation is “Leave it be.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 1, 2023
“One of the oldest adages in investing is that if you’re reading about it in the paper, it’s too late,” he said.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
