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.
Carla Cressy worked as a model from the age of five until she was 17, but kept collapsing on shoots.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
In earlier research, Safe and his collaborators described NR4A1 as a "nutrient sensor," meaning that it can respond to dietary compounds and contribute to the body's ability to remain healthy with age.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
Also, for those under age 59½, distributions can trigger a 10% premature distribution penalty on top of the taxes.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 19, 2026
A reader compared it to peak Wayne Gretzky, and that’s pretty close—it’s even crazier when you consider Messi’s age and the fact that everyone knows he can do this and they still can’t stop him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Early died in Carville in 1934 at the age of sixty-four.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
NOTE.—The suffix -age is found only in French-Latin derivatives.
From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton
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
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
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
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
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
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
If those rains linger, however, that could also affect what is shaping up to be a battle of the ages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The regression asks whether workers ages 55+ who are exposed to AI are leaving work more often than similar workers with the same exposure before ChatGPT’s launch.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
“The once habitual ‘big night out’ has become an increasingly fringe activity,” Imogen Willetts writes in “Up All Night,” her lively history of nightclubs through the ages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
It’s easy to forget that Mount St. Helens is young, in terms of the ages of rocks and mountains.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Over 9,000 of those deaths were people aged 65 and older.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
In March 2026, 29.1% of people aged 16 to 65 in the Norfolk coastal town were on Universal Credit, compared with 18.4% for the county as a whole, and 19.2% in England.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
The lone Angel representative this year was aged superstar Mike Trout, five years past his prime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
It was not until 2014-15 season, with Kane aged 21, that he got a chance at Tottenham under Mauricio Pochettino's tenure as manager.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
It was such a long list that the aged priest, used to going to bed at six o'clock, fell asleep in his chair before it was over.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Migration can help offset some effects of Europe's demographic change, the researchers said, but it would have a limited impact on "fully" addressing the challenges posed by 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
The researchers said migration can help offset some effects of Europe's demographic change, but it would have a limited impact on "fully" addressing the challenges posed by an ageing population.
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
Gen Z in particular appears skeptical of the industry’s reliance on aging brands and technology-driven filmmaking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Even Miguel de Cervantes’s aging Don Quixote is driven into a phantasmagoric abyss by the reading of chivalrous romance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
"These peptides are emerging as key regulators of aging biology," Cohen said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
Utilities have been struggling to keep the system going, given funds are limited for any kind of major overhaul of the aging pipes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
He wouldn’t have left the country twice, listening to my pleas of an aging mother and fantasies of beefsteak.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
