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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

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

Clearer long-term goals as he enters tennis middle age.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026

The team then tracked how the numbers of these cells changed as the mice moved from young adulthood to middle age and then to old age.

From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2026

He was exactly like a man in early middle age, tall, powerful, and commanding.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

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.