middle-aged

American  

[mid-l-eyjd] / ˈmɪd lˈeɪdʒd /

adjective

1. being of the age intermediate between youth and old age, roughly between 45 and 65.

2. characteristic of or suitable for persons of this age.

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middle-aged British  

adjective

1. of, relating to, or being in the time in a person's life between youth and old age

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Other Word Forms

• middle-agedly adverb
• middle-agedness noun

Etymology

Origin of middle-aged

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

We often hear how young and middle-aged adults benefit from therapy.

From MarketWatch

Upon visiting the day cares, Shirley and his middle-aged male partner, David, discover the centers have locked their doors and won’t let them in to gawk at the children.

From Salon

Facing an unraveling marriage, a middle-aged lawyer sets off on a road trip in the hopes of rediscovering his life’s meaning.

From The Wall Street Journal

Thomas Fowler is a middle-aged British reporter living in 1950s Saigon with a young Vietnamese woman, Phuong.

From The Wall Street Journal

I was just talking to an actor friend and we both realized that we were drawn, at nine and 10 years old, to these almost dour, misanthropic, middle-aged characters.

From The Wall Street Journal