middle age

American  

noun

1. the period of human life between youth and old age, sometimes considered as the years between 45 and 65 or thereabout.

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middle age British  

noun

1. the period of life between youth and old age, usually (in man) considered to occur approximately between the ages of 40 and 60

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Etymology

Origin of middle age

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

middle age

Ultimately, what sisterhood there is between “Five-Star Weekend” and “Ride or Die” can be seen in the way they consider the resources a woman has as she enters middle age.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

We are entering the latter half of middle age.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

For many Americans, middle age is becoming more challenging than it was for previous generations.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026

When hearing loss in middle age drove him to rely on hearing aids, he credited the affliction with sharpening his awareness of the world around him—and enhancing his art.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

But no matter how stringent the effort, the thicknesses of middle age were encircling him and threatening to overwhelm the athlete’s body, the Marine’s body of which he was so proud.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Related Words

• midlife