of age
Idioms-
Old enough, according to the law, to be eligible for something, as in In this state he's not of age for buying liquor, but he may vote , or Next year Jane's coming of age and will get her driver's license . This usage was first recorded about 1430. The term under age signifies being too young to be eligible, as in It's against the law to serve alcohol to anyone under age .
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come of age . Mature or develop fully, as in The school's bilingual program has finally come of age .
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.
When the birds reached nine weeks of age, the researchers began training them to walk on a treadmill.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Ms. Li instead imagines Adelaide’s coming of age.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Bricknell: "I believe he was second top-scorer at Arsenal behind Benik Afobe, and then for some reason they decided at 11 years of age that they didn't want him anymore."
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
For the most part, childhood checkups establish a baseline of progress that concludes at 18 years of age.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
“And I can’t let this happen. You know as well as I do that the moment the child comes of age, Suyodhana is destined to become...to become...”
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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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.