old hand
Americannoun
noun
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a person who is skilled at something through long experience
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informal (in the 19th century) an ex-convict
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informal a person who is long established in a place
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
I try to brush the hairs flat with my hand and freeze at the sight of my old hand on my old head.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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.
