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:
An old adage has it that strategy is for amateurs and logistics is for professionals.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
That’s why that adage about living well being the best revenge tends to be offered to the party on the losing end of a betrayal.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
But that just reinforces Samuel Johnson’s adage that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Led by the adage of “doing good while doing well,” microfinance lenders have since advanced hundreds of billions of dollars to poor people in countries from Albania to Zimbabwe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
It was about the time literature was going through a bit of a renaissance, people clinging to that old adage about bedtime stories and the dreams they might bring.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
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
With commanding aphorisms and adages, Kalunga tempers Zau’s need for immediate answers.
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2024
All those adages seem to make sense because they’ve been around a long time.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2024
“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
Definitions 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.
