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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.

Rashford, also bidding to earn a World Cup slot with England while on loan from Manchester United, will be experiencing an El Clasico for the first time, but Bellingham is an old hand.

From BBC • Oct. 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

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

In the car ride afterward, Bonds — a political old hand, a widowed mother of three and grandmother of six — contemplated trying it out herself.

From Washington Post • Apr. 27, 2022

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.