of or relating to the ancient world or to a former period of history.
of or relating to the Old World.
old-world customs.
characteristic of the Old World; quaint; traditional.
Europe, Asia, and Africa, especially when regarded collectively as the inhabited landmasses of the world known to Europe prior to its discovery of the Americas.
First recorded in 1705–15
First recorded in 1590–1600
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Historic freezes in 1894 and 1895 nearly eradicated the industry, its first and last real brush with old-world calamity.
From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026
As well as dressing up, they also try to replicate the posture, behaviours - such as using a fan - and "old-world way of speaking" of the Regency period.
From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026
Mr. Massie, whose slurred accent sounds at once Scottish, English and French, possesses the sort of old-world education presently facing extinction.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
Remarkably few of these old-world venues remain in circulation — there are only a handful in America — although they are much revered in Europe, where it is much more common to stumble across one.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2025
Comparing the clippers to those old-world wrecks was like squinting into daylight after coming out of a rust hold.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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.
