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Synonyms

middle age

American  

noun

  1. the period of human life between youth and old age, sometimes considered as the years between 45 and 65 or thereabout.

middle age British  

noun

  1. the period of life between youth and old age, usually (in man) considered to occur approximately between the ages of 40 and 60

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of middle age

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

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.

Ruth Jones and Steve Speirs are set to team up once again in a comedy about the challenges of relationships in middle age.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Yet if the album is rooted in the creative awakenings of George’s youth, it’s also the 51-year-old’s way of embracing middle age.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

For some people, it’s a modest home, with a mortgage that’s paid off in early middle age, and a job that brings them satisfaction.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026

Half of the leading poets died before middle age.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

Blanca had already resigned herself to chastity, middle age, and her various aches and pains, but the shock of love had brought her a new youth.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

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.