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Synonyms

old hand

American  

noun

  1. a person who is experienced in or familiar with a subject, area, procedure, etc..

    The guide you just hired is an old hand at leading safaris.
old hand British  

noun

  1. a person who is skilled at something through long experience

  2. informal (in the 19th century) an ex-convict

  3. informal a person who is long established in a place

"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 old hand

First recorded in 1775–85

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.

According to her Outside interview, 33-year-old Woodley is an old hand at camping thanks to family outings at Leo Carrillo State Park in Malibu and other California coastal haunts.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2025

Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin is an old hand, having made world headlines back in 2003 by opposing the U.S. war in Iraq in an eloquent U.N. address.

From Salon • Mar. 2, 2025

Salah-Eddine Oulad M’hand is a relative old hand at 20.

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2024

As for Evans, he looked like an old hand in a top defensive pairing alongside Adam Larsson as well as “quarterbacking” the second power play unit.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 3, 2023

Charlie was holding tightly onto his grandfather’s bony old hand.

From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl

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.