the length of time during which a being or thing has existed; length of life or existence to the time spoken of or referred to.
trees of unknown age; His age is 20 years.
a period of human life, measured by years from birth, usually marked by a certain stage or degree of mental or physical development and involving legal responsibility and capacity.
the age of discretion; the age of consent; The state raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 years.
the particular period of life at which a person becomes naturally or conventionally qualified or disqualified for anything.
He was over age for military duty.
one of the periods or stages of human life.
a person of middle age.
advanced years; old age.
His eyes were dim with age.
a particular period of history, as distinguished from others; a historical epoch.
the age of Pericles; the Stone Age; the age of electronic communications.
the period of history contemporary with the span of an individual's life.
He was the most famous architect of the age.
a generation or a series of generations.
ages yet unborn.
a great length of time.
I haven't seen you for an age. He's been gone for ages.
the average life expectancy of an individual or of the individuals of a class or species.
The age of a horse is from 25 to 30 years.
Psychology. the level of mental, emotional, or educational development of a person, especially a child, as determined by various tests and based on a comparison of the individual's score with the average score for persons of the same chronological age.
Geology.
a period of the history of the earth distinguished by some special feature.
the Ice Age.
a unit of geological time, shorter than an epoch, during which the rocks comprising a stage were formed.
any of the successive periods in human history divided, according to Hesiod, into the golden, silver, bronze, heroic, and iron ages.
Cards.
Poker. the first player at the dealer's left.
to make old; cause to grow or seem old.
Fear aged him overnight.
to bring to maturity or a state fit for use.
to age wine.
to store (a permanent magnet, a capacitor, or other similar device) so that its electrical or magnetic characteristics become constant.
to expose (a dye or dyed cloth) to steam or humid air in order to fix the dye.
to stabilize the electrical properties of (a device) by passing current through it.
the period of time that a person, animal, or plant has lived or is expected to live
the age of a tree
what age was he when he died?
the age of a horse is up to thirty years
the period of existence of an object, material, group, etc
the age of this table is 200 years
a period or state of human life
he should know better at his age
she had got beyond the giggly age
( as modifier )
age group
the latter part of life
a period of history marked by some feature or characteristic; era
( capital when part of a name )
the Middle Ages
the Space Age
generation
the Edwardian age
geology palaeontol
a period of the earth's history distinguished by special characteristics
the age of reptiles
the period during which a stage of rock strata is formed; a subdivision of an epoch
myth any of the successive periods in the legendary history of man, which were, according to Hesiod, the golden, silver, bronze, heroic, and iron ages
informal (often plural) a relatively long time
she was an age washing her hair
I've been waiting ages
psychol the level in years that a person has reached in any area of development, such as mental or emotional, compared with the normal level for his chronological age See also achievement age mental age
(often said humorously when yielding precedence) older people take precedence over younger people
adult and legally responsible for one's actions (usually at 18 or, formerly, 21 years)
to grow or make old or apparently old; become or cause to become old or aged
to begin to seem older
to have aged a lot in the past year
brewing to mature or cause to mature
indicating a collection, set, or group
acreage
baggage
indicating a process or action or the result of an action
haulage
passage
breakage
indicating a state, condition, or relationship
bondage
parentage
indicating a house or place
orphanage
indicating a charge or fee
postage
indicating a rate
dosage
mileage
Age, epoch, era, period all refer to an extent of time. Age usually implies a considerable extent of time, especially one associated with a dominant personality, influence, characteristic, or institution: the age of chivalry. Epoch and era are often used interchangeably to refer to an extent of time characterized by changed conditions and new undertakings: an era ( or epoch ) of invention. epoch sometimes refers especially to the beginning of an era: the steam engine—an epoch in technology. A period may be long or short, but usually has a marked condition or feature: the glacial period; a period of expansion.
First recorded in 1225–75; (for the noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French aage, eage, equivalent to aé, eé (from Latin ae(vi)tās “age, lifetime,” from aev(um) “eternity, period, time” + -itās -ity ) + -age -age; verb derivative of the noun
Middle English < Old French < Latin -āticum, neuter of -āticus adj. suffix; an extension of Latin -āta -ate 1, whose range of senses it reflects closely
Your age is the number of years you've been alive. If your cat is six, you can say that he's "six years of age." You can also talk about a stage of life or an era in history as an age: "School age kids need to get outside and play every day." Often when someone mentions age as a concept or idea, they mean old age, or being elderly. And the verb age means "grow older." The word comes from the Old French aage, "age or lifetime," from the Latin root aevum, "lifetime, eternity, or age."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But believe it or not, one of the biggest barriers that our state faces, in this great age of technology and always-on connection, is that there is little collaboration between the folks fighting traffickers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Fans around Newcastle have paid tribute to Kevin Keegan after news broke of the former footballer's death at age 75.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
A total of 70% of adults who survive to age 65 develop severe “long-term services and support” care needs before they die, and 48% receive some paid care over their lifetime, according to the U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff said it would make France the first country in Europe to establish a "digital legal age".
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
None but a child taken at an early age would have ever attained the proficiency and wrought such widespread evil as I have.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
NOTE.—The suffix -age is found only in French-Latin derivatives.
From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton
Another large group of hovering accents is that formed by French words with such terminations as -our, -ance, -ace, -age, -ant, -ess.
From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald
Examples of words formed in imitation of these in English itself are blockade, orangeade. -age, ending of abstract nouns, as homage; marks place where, as vicarage;—of English formation, bondage, brewage, parsonage.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
We incline to think rather that it corresponds to -age, being added chiefly to words in e. -age fits rather upon stems in a. gounfle, swollen. gounflige, swelling.
From Frédéric Mistral Poet and Leader in Provence by Downer, Charles Alfred
This suffix is the equivalent of the French -age, and is a suffix of frequent occurrence in forming new words.
From Frédéric Mistral Poet and Leader in Provence by Downer, Charles Alfred
Other companies have opted to release less-niche products that can still be marketed toward GLP-1 patients, such as SkinCeuticals’ new A.G.E.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2025
In a 1998 federal indictment, U.S. prosecutors in Reno identified him as the former president of a company, A.G.E.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2022
In early June, Shields, his wife and kids, ages 4 and 7, made the trek back to Yosemite, staying outside the park at Tenaya at Yosemite in Fish Camp.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Brazil introduced a law in March requiring platforms to link the accounts of users aged under-16 to those of their parents, while also requiring platforms to verify users' ages.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
In the CPS, I identified workers ages 55+ and followed them for a year to see if they kept or stopped working.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Bain, who lives in Cheshire and fosters children of varying ages, finds it tricky to keep them "motivated and entertained" for six weeks given their differing interests.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Macy smiled for the first time in ages.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
Brazil introduced a law in March requiring platforms to link the accounts of users aged under-16 to those of their parents, while also requiring platforms to verify users' ages.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
One group had a genetic tendency to develop amyloid plaques, while the other consisted of "wild-type" mice that aged normally.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
Over 9,000 of those deaths were people aged 65 and older.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Roared on by a sell-out crowd of 60,000 at London Stadium, the five-time global medallist bettered the Moroccan's mark - untouched since 1999, when Kerr was aged one - by nearly half a second.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
There was no handle and no keyhole: nothing but a plain expanse of aged wood, and a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
The population of the 27-nation European Union will peak in 2029 before falling in the coming decades, according to a report published Tuesday that spotlights the major challenges the bloc faces from an ageing population.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
Many of Japan’s economic problems result from its demographic challenge: an ageing and shrinking population that has created labor shortages.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
But an ageing population poses challenges for society and the EU economy, and while migration could help, it's not the fix Europe might hope for.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
We go on a short hike while Yarvin, who looks like an ageing punk rocker, speaks in circuitous, long-winded yarns that reference esoteric texts and periods of history to prove his points.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
They were both old and round, and they lived in their flat with a number of ageing Highland terriers who had names like Hamish and Andrew and Jock.
From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
Freelance writer and editor Lucy Schiller bumped up against the issues of aging, eldercare and loneliness through her grandmothers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The researchers identified patterns of electrical brain activity that appear to distinguish Alzheimer's related changes from normal aging.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
The results support a growing body of research showing that diet, especially plant-based compounds, can influence biological pathways involved in aging and disease.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
An aging ferry carrying more than 100 people capsized off the coast of Guyana, with 67 saved and rescue teams searching for the rest, officials said Sunday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
The two aging men saw her through her loneliest and most difficult hours, through the malignant limbo of turning from a howling tomboy into a young woman.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
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.
