dated
Americanadjective
-
having or showing a date.
a dated record of all meetings.
-
out-of-date; old-fashioned.
a nostalgic program of dated songs.
- Synonyms:
- unfashionable, passé, outmoded
adjective
-
unfashionable; outmoded
dated clothes
-
(of a security) having a fixed date for redemption
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of dated
Explanation
Something that's dated is very obviously old-fashioned or out of style. Your grandmother's expectation that you send her a written thank-you note whenever she gives you a gift might seem a little dated to you. Some people can wear thrift shop clothes from the 1980s and look stylish, while others just look dated. And while some movies are still funny even years after they're released, the jokes in others just seem dated. This word meaning "old-fashioned" has been around since the turn of the 20th century, from date, which means both "to mark with a date" and also "to mark as old-fashioned."
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.
“A lot of time they’re jammed together by some critics and the artists reject the name and the association. But think about Patti Smith and Sam Shepard. Did you know they dated for a while?”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
The "spooky" note, dated to 1964, said the coins were winnings from a horse called Santa Claus that ran that year.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
The worst allegations in the Times piece come from Lyndsey Fifield, who dated Platner when they were both living in D.C. from 2013 to 2015.
From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026
The deepest and oldest layer contained only charcoal fragments, which were dated to approximately 6,000 years ago.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026
Kepler, reasoning from astrology, dated the moment of transition to 1563: the great planetary conjunction of that year had transformed the world of learning; certainly it had led to a flood of astrological publications.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
