old
Americanadjective
-
older,
comparative
-
elder,
comparative
-
oldest,
superlative
-
eldest
superlative
-
far advanced in the years of one's or its life.
an old man;
an old horse;
an old tree.
- Antonyms:
- young
-
of or relating to the latter part of the life or term of existence of a person or thing.
old age.
-
as if or appearing to be far advanced in years.
Worry had made him old.
-
having lived or existed for a specified time: a century-old organization.
a man 30 years old;
a century-old organization.
-
having lived or existed as specified with relation to younger or newer persons or things.
Jim is our oldest boy.
-
having been aged for a specified time.
This whiskey is eight years old.
-
having been aged for a comparatively long time.
old brandy.
-
long known or in use.
the same old excuse.
-
overfamiliar to the point of tedium.
Some jokes get old fast.
-
belonging to the past.
the good old days.
-
having been in existence since the distant past.
a fine old family.
-
no longer in general use.
Our dishwasher is an old model, so replacement parts are hard to find.
-
acquired, made, or in use by one prior to the acquisition, making, or use of something more recent.
When the new house was built, we sold the old one.
-
of, relating to, or originating at an earlier period or date.
old maps.
-
former; having been so formerly.
I ran into my old piano teacher the other day.
-
There may have been an old land bridge between Asia and Alaska.
-
Old, (of a language) in its oldest known period, as attested by the earliest written records.
Old Czech.
-
He's an old hand at welding.
-
of long standing; having been such for a comparatively long time.
an old and trusted employee.
-
(of colors) dull, faded, or subdued.
old rose.
-
deteriorated through age or long use; worn, decayed, or dilapidated.
old clothes.
-
Physical Geography. (of landforms) far advanced in reduction by erosion or the like.
-
sedate, sensible, mature, or wise.
That child seems old beyond his years.
-
(used to indicate affection, familiarity, disparagement, or a personalization): that dirty old jalopy.
good old Bob;
that dirty old jalopy.
-
Informal. (used as an intensive) great; uncommon.
a high old time.
noun
-
(used with a plural verb) Usually the old old persons collectively.
appropriations to care for the old.
-
a person or animal of a specified age or age group (used in combination): a horse race for three-year-olds.
a class for six-year-olds;
a horse race for three-year-olds.
-
old or former time, often time long past.
days of old.
adjective
-
having lived or existed for a relatively long time
an old man
an old tradition
old wine
an old house
an old country
-
-
of or relating to advanced years or a long life
old age
-
( as collective noun; preceded by the )
the old
-
people of all ages
-
-
decrepit or senile
-
worn with age or use
old clothes
an old car
-
-
(postpositive) having lived or existed for a specified period
a child who is six years old
-
( in combination )
a six-year-old child
-
( as noun in combination )
a six-year-old
-
-
(capital when part of a name or title) earlier or earliest of two or more things with the same name
the old edition
the Old Testament
old Norwich
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(capital when part of a name) designating the form of a language in which the earliest known records are written
Old English
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(prenominal) familiar through long acquaintance or repetition
an old friend
an old excuse
-
practised; hardened
old in cunning
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cherished; dear: used as a term of affection or familiarity
good old George
-
informal (with any of several nouns) used as a familiar form of address to a person
old thing
old bean
old stick
old fellow
-
skilled through long experience (esp in the phrase an old hand )
-
out-of-date; unfashionable
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remote or distant in origin or time of origin
an old culture
-
(prenominal) former; previous
my old house was small
-
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(prenominal) established for a relatively long time
an old member
-
( in combination )
old-established
-
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sensible, wise, or mature
old beyond one's years
-
(of a river, valley, or land surface) in the final stage of the cycle of erosion, characterized by flat extensive flood plains and minimum relief See also youthful mature
-
(intensifier) (esp in phrases such as a good old time, any old thing, any old how, etc)
-
(of crops) harvested late
-
an earlier period of time regarded as better than the present
-
informal indicating affection, esp humorous affection
my little old wife
-
informal a jocular name for Satan
noun
Usage
Many people nowadays prefer to talk about older people rather than old people , and the phrase the old is best avoided altogether
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of old
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English eald, ald; cognate with Dutch old, German alt, Gothic altheis; akin to Old Norse ala “to nourish”
Explanation
Use the adjective old to describe someone who's been alive for a long time. When you're 30, 60 seems old, and when you're 60, 90 seems old. When you're 90, face it, you're old! The adjective old also means former. It can be fun to visit your favorite teachers at your old elementary school, or to drive through your old neighborhood. You can use old to describe something of long duration, like your old friends from camp who you visit every summer. Old also has numerous informal or slang uses, like the phrase "any old," which you'd use to say, "I don't want just any old job; I want to be a circus clown."
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.
See Examples For:
In the end, he left them a few sentimental mementos, some collectibles and old photographs.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Remakes enable this sharing of experiences because getting old computer hardware or video games consoles to work, while a pastime loved by some, is not possible for everyone.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Taxi driver Mohammed Kanaan drives his shiny new electric car around Damascus's rundown streets, hoping for higher profits as spiking petrol prices made his old car too expensive to run.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Wolf, 66 years old, eschewed client work for years once he took over running the firm in 2010.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
“He’s just an old man in a nursing home.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
But despite Cárdenas’ political failures, he remained a respected elder statesman and a central figure on the Mexican left until his death.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The elder Bolsonaro also traveled to Florida on the eve of Lula’s inauguration in December 2022 after losing the election.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026
His early life's defining tragedy came when his elder brother Yonatan was killed leading the Entebbe hostage-rescue mission in Uganda.
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
According to NPR, the elder Evans showed up for jury selection under the name “Hanson,” introducing himself to reporters as a concerned citizen who fixed up old cars for a living.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
Therem the younger son; Arek the elder, that brother whose voice he had heard in mine bespeaking him; both dead now.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
But where’s the line between supporting someone who provides care and taking advantage of a vulnerable older adult?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Thrive Holdings, a Kushner-led firm that acquires older businesses and infuses them with artificial intelligence, agreed to acquire ADT in a $7.6 billion all-cash deal with an enterprise value of $15.3 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
They can also look significantly older or younger than they are.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
However, researchers did not find a similar association among participants older than 60.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
Christoffels was the third and only other employee in the shop, a bent, wizened little man who looked older than Father though actually he was ten years younger.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
In 1880 the couple commissioned Renoir, a rising art star, to paint their eldest daughter, Irène, a pretty 8-year-old with flowing copper-colored hair.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
The report described her eldest daughter, Isra Hirsi, pulling into the driveway after dark and carrying a bag into the house.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
Being the eldest son of Spartacus wasn’t easy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Their eldest son, 26-year-old Ortiz Jr., is near the end of his enlistment and was planning to buy a house in Riverside for his wife and two young children to start their next chapter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
The eldest of them, a sensible, intelligent young woman, about twenty-seven, was Elizabeth’s intimate friend.
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
The results mark a key step toward Italy’s largest bank Intesa taking control of Monte dei Paschi, which is widely considered to be the world’s oldest bank still in operation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The 35-year-old tattoo artist and her family have set up an altar at the cemetery since 2015, the same year her oldest sister died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
"It's been a wait but sometimes you have to wait for the best things in life," said Zverev, who is the second oldest man to top the rankings for the first time.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The findings extend the known glacial record from the region by more than 100,000 years, making these the oldest ice cores ever recovered from this part of Tibet.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
“One of the oldest adages in investing is that if you’re reading about it in the paper, it’s too late,” he said.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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