middle-aged
Americanadjective
-
being of the age intermediate between youth and old age, roughly between 45 and 65.
-
characteristic of or suitable for persons of this age.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of middle-aged
First recorded in 1600–10
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.
In a horror movie pastiche, Mendoza is dogged by middle-aged white men compelled to tell him that their wife is Asian, which does sound like something from personal experience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
As the big moment looms, everyone limbers up in the corridors like middle-aged dads getting ready for a Park Run.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
"It looks like him, for sure," she said, showing coordinators a photograph of a smiling, middle-aged man.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
Then, William Hyde, a middle-aged Black man born and bred in Nashville, looked dumbfounded—he too had been stricken by Chud.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
It was the lady in the seat behind him, a middle-aged Hispanic woman in a flowered dress.
From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers
![]()
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.