Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for old

old

[ ohld ]

adjective

, old·er [ohl, -der], old·est [ohl, -dist] or eld·er [el, -der], eld·est [el, -dist].
  1. far advanced in the years of one's or its life:

    an old man;

    an old horse;

    an old tree.

    Antonyms: young

  2. of or relating to the latter part of the life or term of existence of a person or thing:

    old age.

  3. as if or appearing to be far advanced in years:

    Worry had made him old.

  4. having lived or existed for a specified time: a century-old organization.

    a man 30 years old;

    a century-old organization.

  5. having lived or existed as specified with relation to younger or newer persons or things:

    Jim is our oldest boy.

  6. having been aged for a specified time:

    This whiskey is eight years old.

  7. having been aged for a comparatively long time:

    old brandy.

  8. long known or in use:

    the same old excuse.

  9. overfamiliar to the point of tedium:

    Some jokes get old fast.

    Synonyms: early, olden

  10. belonging to the past:

    the good old days.

  11. having been in existence since the distant past:

    a fine old family.

  12. no longer in general use:

    Our dishwasher is an old model, so replacement parts are hard to find.

  13. 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.

  14. of, relating to, or originating at an earlier period or date:

    old maps.

  15. former; having been so formerly:

    I ran into my old piano teacher the other day.

  16. There may have been an old land bridge between Asia and Alaska.

  17. Old, (of a language) in its oldest known period, as attested by the earliest written records:

    Old Czech.

  18. He's an old hand at welding.

  19. of long standing; having been such for a comparatively long time:

    an old and trusted employee.

  20. (of colors) dull, faded, or subdued:

    old rose.

  21. deteriorated through age or long use; worn, decayed, or dilapidated:

    old clothes.

  22. Physical Geography. (of landforms) far advanced in reduction by erosion or the like.
  23. sedate, sensible, mature, or wise:

    That child seems old beyond his years.

  24. (used to indicate affection, familiarity, disparagement, or a personalization): that dirty old jalopy.

    good old Bob;

    that dirty old jalopy.

  25. Informal. (used as an intensive) great; uncommon:

    a high old time.



noun

  1. Usually the old. (used with a plural verb) old persons collectively:

    appropriations to care for the old.

  2. 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.

  3. old or former time, often time long past:

    days of old.

old

/ əʊld /

adjective

  1. having lived or existed for a relatively long time

    an old man

    an old country

    old wine

    an old house

    an old tradition

    1. of or relating to advanced years or a long life

      old age

    2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the old

    3. people of all ages
  2. decrepit or senile
  3. worn with age or use

    old clothes

    an old car

    1. postpositive having lived or existed for a specified period

      a child who is six years old

    2. ( in combination )

      a six-year-old child

    3. ( as noun in combination )

      a six-year-old

  4. 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

  5. capital when part of a name designating the form of a language in which the earliest known records are written

    Old English

  6. prenominal familiar through long acquaintance or repetition

    an old friend

    an old excuse

  7. practised; hardened

    old in cunning

  8. prenominaloften preceded bygood cherished; dear: used as a term of affection or familiarity

    good old George

  9. informal.
    with any of several nouns used as a familiar form of address to a person

    old thing

    old stick

    old fellow

    old bean

  10. skilled through long experience (esp in the phrase an old hand )
  11. out-of-date; unfashionable
  12. remote or distant in origin or time of origin

    an old culture

  13. prenominal former; previous

    my old house was small

    1. prenominal established for a relatively long time

      an old member

    2. ( in combination )

      old-established

  14. sensible, wise, or mature

    old beyond one's years

  15. (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
  16. (intensifier) (esp in phrases such as a good old time, any old thing, any old how, etc)
  17. (of crops) harvested late
  18. good old days
    an earlier period of time regarded as better than the present
  19. little old informal.
    indicating affection, esp humorous affection

    my little old wife

  20. the old one or the old gentleman informal.
    a jocular name for Satan
“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

noun

  1. an earlier or past time (esp in the phrase of old )

    in days of old

“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
Discover More

Usage

Many people nowadays prefer to talk about older people rather than old people , and the phrase the old is best avoided altogether
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈoldish, adjective
  • ˈoldness, noun
Discover More

Other Words From

  • old·ness noun
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of old1

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”
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of old1

Old English eald; related to Old Saxon ald, Old High German, German alt, Latin altus high
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

  • any old
  • chip off the old block
  • comfortable as an old shoe
  • dirty joke (old man)
  • get the air (old heave-ho)
  • no fool like an old fool
  • of old
  • ripe old age
  • same old story
  • settle a score (old scores)
  • stamping ground, old
  • teach an old dog new tricks
  • up to one's old tricks
Discover More

Example Sentences

"Clearly there is anticipation that the new administration is going to be somewhat more favourable to crypto than the old administration was," said Andrew O'Neill, digital assets expert at S&P Global.

From BBC

Mr. Trump put his assets into a trust at the start of his first term, but his older sons remained in control of the company.

Many of these trees are more than 140 years old, after all, and the association is always looking ahead, Ward said.

Inside the chain-link fence encircling the property, an excavator last week was moving a pile of rubble — the last remains of an old building that had been demolished to make room for something new.

He takes an X-acto knife, carefully peels off the old tape, cleans the residue, then applies transparent glue in a way to ensure the bill doesn’t break when it’s folded.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement