antique
Americanadjective
-
of or belonging to the past; not modern.
-
dating from a period long ago.
antique furniture.
- Synonyms:
- obsolescent, obsolete, old
-
noting or pertaining to automobiles approximately 25 years old or more.
-
in the tradition, fashion, or style of an earlier period; old-fashioned; antiquated.
-
of or belonging to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
-
(of paper) neither calendered nor coated and having a rough surface.
noun
-
antiques
plural
-
any work of art, piece of furniture, decorative object, or the like, created or produced in a former period, or, according to U.S. customs laws, 100 years before date of purchase.
-
the antique style, usually Greek or Roman, especially in art.
-
Printing. a style of type.
verb (used with object)
-
antiques,
present (3rd person singular)
-
antiqued,
past participle, past
-
antiquing
present participle
-
to make or finish (something, especially furniture) in imitation of antiques.
-
to emboss (an image, design, letters, or the like) on paper or fabric.
verb (used without object)
-
antiques,
present (3rd person singular)
-
antiqued,
past participle, past
-
antiquing
present participle
noun
-
-
a decorative object, piece of furniture, or other work of art created in an earlier period, that is collected and valued for its beauty, workmanship, and age
-
( as modifier )
an antique shop
-
-
any object made in an earlier period
-
the style of ancient art, esp Greek or Roman art, or an example of it
adjective
-
made in or in the style of an earlier period
-
of or belonging to the distant past, esp of or in the style of ancient Greece or Rome
-
informal old-fashioned; out-of-date
-
archaic aged or venerable
-
(of paper) not calendered or coated; having a rough surface
verb
Synonym Usage
See ancient 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
antiquenessnoun
-
subantiquenessnoun
-
pseudoantiqueadjective
-
quasi-antiqueadjective
-
subantiqueadjective
-
antiquelyadverb
-
subantiquelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
antiquesimple
-
antiquessimple
-
have antiquedperfect
-
has antiquedperfect
-
am antiquingprogressive
-
are antiquingprogressive
-
is antiquingprogressive
-
have been antiquingperfect progressive
-
has been antiquingperfect progressive
Past
-
antiquedsimple
-
had antiquedperfect
-
was antiquingprogressive
-
were antiquingprogressive
-
had been antiquingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of antique
1520–30; earlier also anticke (< Middle French antique ) < Latin antīiquus, antīicus in front, existing earler, ancient; cf. antic, posticum
Explanation
An antique is an old-fashioned thing, like a lamp from the sixties. Anything antique is old or at least old-ish. When you see the word antique, you know you're not going to hear about anything new or young. An antique is a nice, old piece of furniture, that's usually been well taken care of and costs more than something new. Shopping for antiques is called antiquing. Outside of antique shops, calling anything antique means it's out-of-date and useless — so if you wanted to be mean, you could call your grandparents antiques.
Vocabulary lists containing antique
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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:
They’ve popped up in barns and on farms, in strip malls between an antique shop and an ax-throwing business and in churches, where lighting and sound for worship services is part of the curriculum.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
An image of a quadriga, a four-horse chariot, from one of the collection’s numerous antique coins, became the foundation’s emblem, symbolizing its four pillars: culture, education, science and philanthropy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Today, surviving examples are "exceptionally scarce", according to antique shop WeBuyVintage, which has valued the item at £2,500.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
It also featured what we’d now call a “vintage” kitchen, featuring antique appliances.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
Tattered but freshly swept carpets covered the highly polished hardwood floors, and the rooms were filled with antique velvet-covered chairs inherited from my great-grandma.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Her father was a traveling antiques dealer, but also operated a lakeside summer resort in Michigan, where, at a young age, Steinem was enamored of the musicians who passed through to play.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
The court heard the accompanying paperwork had been typed using a typewriter on paper embossed with an antiques dealers' logo – and even a nine-pence stamp.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
In a trip in November 2013 to Vincenzo Caffarella, a decorative arts and antiques shop in London, £170,000 was allegedly spent on a "vast amount of property" including Venetian lamps and vases.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
‘Storage Wars’ star Darrell Sheets, an antiques enthusiast known by fans of the A&E series as ‘The Gambler,’ was found dead on Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026
Over time, Barack and I would take steps in this direction, hanging more abstract art and works by African American artists on the walls, for example, and mixing contemporary furniture in with the antiques.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
In another project, he considered mounting antiqued mirror on the ceiling, but when the budget wouldn’t allow it, he used a shiny Cole & Son wallcovering called Antique Mirror to achieve a similar effect.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
Of course, the only caveat is watching the slick show in the antiqued DVD format.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 1, 2021
Do you think it’s OK to have a low-key party to celebrate our child, or is this an antiqued ordeal that needs to go?
From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2021
Designed by Stephen Rieman and Mark Krasne, the condo features antiqued mirrors, hand-stenciled doors and a wet bar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2019
If you are using dull coloured carpets and hangings, have your modern reproductions antiqued.
From The Art of Interior Decoration by Grace Wood
On the agenda for Bowen’s perfect Sunday are hiking, antiquing and a stop at Joan’s on Third.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2024
Two lamps weren’t just two lamps, but the best outing she spent antiquing with my grandmother before she passed away from Alzheimer’s disease.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2024
“We are going antiquing, and they are on a little farm and we will take walks through the woods and cook some dinners,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2022
At this year’s TromaDance, the Demmers sat in lawn chairs next to a newly renovated drive-in speaker that Mr. Demmer found and repaired while antiquing in Detroit.
From New York Times ● Jul. 9, 2021
She went antiquing and hung an old washboard on the wall.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
