old
Americanadjective
-
older,
comparative
-
elder,
comparative
-
oldest,
superlative
-
eldest
superlative
-
far advanced in the years of one's or its life.
an old man;
an old horse;
an old tree.
- Antonyms:
- young
-
of or relating to the latter part of the life or term of existence of a person or thing.
old age.
-
as if or appearing to be far advanced in years.
Worry had made him old.
-
having lived or existed for a specified time: a century-old organization.
a man 30 years old;
a century-old organization.
-
having lived or existed as specified with relation to younger or newer persons or things.
Jim is our oldest boy.
-
having been aged for a specified time.
This whiskey is eight years old.
-
having been aged for a comparatively long time.
old brandy.
-
long known or in use.
the same old excuse.
-
overfamiliar to the point of tedium.
Some jokes get old fast.
-
belonging to the past.
the good old days.
-
having been in existence since the distant past.
a fine old family.
-
no longer in general use.
Our dishwasher is an old model, so replacement parts are hard to find.
-
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.
-
of, relating to, or originating at an earlier period or date.
old maps.
-
former; having been so formerly.
I ran into my old piano teacher the other day.
-
There may have been an old land bridge between Asia and Alaska.
-
Old, (of a language) in its oldest known period, as attested by the earliest written records.
Old Czech.
-
He's an old hand at welding.
-
of long standing; having been such for a comparatively long time.
an old and trusted employee.
-
(of colors) dull, faded, or subdued.
old rose.
-
deteriorated through age or long use; worn, decayed, or dilapidated.
old clothes.
-
Physical Geography. (of landforms) far advanced in reduction by erosion or the like.
-
sedate, sensible, mature, or wise.
That child seems old beyond his years.
-
(used to indicate affection, familiarity, disparagement, or a personalization): that dirty old jalopy.
good old Bob;
that dirty old jalopy.
-
Informal. (used as an intensive) great; uncommon.
a high old time.
noun
-
(used with a plural verb) Usually the old old persons collectively.
appropriations to care for the old.
-
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.
-
old or former time, often time long past.
days of old.
adjective
-
having lived or existed for a relatively long time
an old man
an old tradition
old wine
an old house
an old country
-
-
of or relating to advanced years or a long life
old age
-
( as collective noun; preceded by the )
the old
-
people of all ages
-
-
decrepit or senile
-
worn with age or use
old clothes
an old car
-
-
(postpositive) having lived or existed for a specified period
a child who is six years old
-
( in combination )
a six-year-old child
-
( as noun in combination )
a six-year-old
-
-
(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
-
(capital when part of a name) designating the form of a language in which the earliest known records are written
Old English
-
(prenominal) familiar through long acquaintance or repetition
an old friend
an old excuse
-
practised; hardened
old in cunning
-
cherished; dear: used as a term of affection or familiarity
good old George
-
informal (with any of several nouns) used as a familiar form of address to a person
old thing
old bean
old stick
old fellow
-
skilled through long experience (esp in the phrase an old hand )
-
out-of-date; unfashionable
-
remote or distant in origin or time of origin
an old culture
-
(prenominal) former; previous
my old house was small
-
-
(prenominal) established for a relatively long time
an old member
-
( in combination )
old-established
-
-
sensible, wise, or mature
old beyond one's years
-
(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
-
(intensifier) (esp in phrases such as a good old time, any old thing, any old how, etc)
-
(of crops) harvested late
-
an earlier period of time regarded as better than the present
-
informal indicating affection, esp humorous affection
my little old wife
-
informal a jocular name for Satan
noun
Usage
Many people nowadays prefer to talk about older people rather than old people , and the phrase the old is best avoided altogether
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of old
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”
Explanation
Use the adjective old to describe someone who's been alive for a long time. When you're 30, 60 seems old, and when you're 60, 90 seems old. When you're 90, face it, you're old! The adjective old also means former. It can be fun to visit your favorite teachers at your old elementary school, or to drive through your old neighborhood. You can use old to describe something of long duration, like your old friends from camp who you visit every summer. Old also has numerous informal or slang uses, like the phrase "any old," which you'd use to say, "I don't want just any old job; I want to be a circus clown."
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.
See Examples For:
When their matriarch convinces the family to embark on a bucket-list road trip around the island, old family secrets surface as the 2019 protests following Hurricane Maria unfold around them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
They were attended by young and old, parents with children and sometimes their grandparents.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Except for one thing: Swank is 52 years old.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
“The old dictum that ‘markets hate uncertainty’ is forever true, and there is more than enough uncertainty around AI for many bucketloads of investor discontent,” Colas wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
As the afternoon flies by, Parker’s expression goes from eager, hopeful puppy to sad, dejected old dog.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
It is puzzling to me why Maupassant’s elder and mentor, Gustave Flaubert, is the object of so much cultish admiration while the protégé is comparatively neglected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The time seems right for an elder influencer, and I am putting myself out there for the job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Some argue that the Census Bureau data paints an overly dire portrait of elder poverty.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
Tshenatshe Monwela, an elder in Maun, a tourism town in north-western Botswana told local media that his community should have received buffalo instead.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
One morning, soon after their arrival, as she was sitting with her two elder sisters, she said to Elizabeth:
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
Research suggests cousin relationships are often built at large family gatherings—weddings, holidays, reunions—and as older generations disappear, so can those regular meetups.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
The court order, obtained after Jeanie’s older brothers Jimmy and Johnny Buss tried to oust her from the organization, installed Janie and Joey as co-trustees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
The miscarriage rate—even with frozen or donor eggs—starts to climb as you get older.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
"It's a tough balance where you've got to explain some context to the new fans without patronising your older fans," Dunn adds.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Torak had asked how he knew that, but Fa had smiled and shaken his head, saying he’d explain when Torak was older.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
He chose Maria, his eldest daughter, as his assistant in managing the family’s estate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Their eldest son, 26-year-old Ortiz Jr., is near the end of his enlistment and was planning to buy a house in Riverside for his wife and two young children to start their next chapter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
The couple have four U.S.-born children together, and their eldest son, Carlos Ortiz Jr., is a sergeant in the Marine Corps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
But his eldest son is now within reach of the presidency, his wife and another son are headed to the Senate, and his youngest son and brother to the lower house of Congress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
“The eldest Pandava liked to read,” the palace recalled wistfully.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
At 37, Freddie Freeman was the oldest player in baseball this season to qualify for the batting title.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The team’s collective age — the Dodgers carried the oldest lineup in the majors this year, according to Baseball Reference, weighted by at-bats and games played — may not have helped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Antonio, the oldest, played the trumpet and also sang the Spanish version of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” called “A Mi Manera,” and it was so stunning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
The world's oldest shipwreck has been discovered off the coast of Turkey, archaeologists say.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Being fourteen and only second oldest, she didn’t usually take charge.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
