senior
adjective
older or elder (designating the older of two men bearing the same name, as a father whose son is named after him, often written as Sr. or sr. following the name).
senior
American
[seen-yer]
/ ˈsin jər /
adjective
-
older or elder (designating the older of two men bearing the same name, as a father whose son is named after him, often written as Sr. or sr. following the name).
I'd like to speak with the senior Mr. Hansen, please.
I'm privileged to introduce Mr. Edward Andrew Hansen, Sr.
-
of earlier appointment or admission, as to an office, status, or rank.
a senior partner.
-
of higher or the highest rank or standing.
-
(in American schools, colleges, and universities) of or relating to students in their final year or to their class.
-
(in certain American colleges and universities) of or relating to the final two years of education, during which a student specializes in a certain field of study.
-
of, for, or pertaining to a senior citizen or senior citizens as a group.
senior discounts on local bus fares.
-
of earlier date; prior to.
His appointment is senior to mine by a year.
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Finance. having a claim on payments, assets, dividends, or the like prior to other creditors, mortgages, stockholders, etc.
noun
-
seniors
plural
-
a person who is older than another.
-
a person of higher rank or standing than another, especially by virtue of longer service.
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(in the U.S.) a student in the final year at a high school, preparatory school, college, or university.
-
a fellow holding senior rank in a college at an English university.
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(initial capital letter) a member of the Girl Scouts from 14 through 17 years of age.
senior
1
British
/ ˈsiːnjə /
adjective
-
higher in rank or length of service
-
older in years
senior citizens
-
of or relating to adulthood, maturity, or old age
senior privileges
-
education
-
of, relating to, or designating more advanced or older pupils
-
of or relating to a secondary school
-
-
of, relating to, or designating students in the fourth and final year at college
noun
-
a senior person
-
an elderly person
-
-
a senior pupil, student, etc
-
a fellow of senior rank in an English university
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Senior
2
British
/ ˈsiːnjə /
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of senior
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, equivalent to sen ( ex ) old, old man + -ior comparative adj. suffix
Explanation
You can use the word senior to describe anyone who's older than you are. You might say, "My brother is six years my senior," especially if you want to make him feel old. Senior means "older," but it also means "old or aged," like your grandmother, who despite being a senior citizen, continues her skydiving hobby. A senior is also a student in the final year of either high school or college, or an authority: "She holds a senior position in the State Department." The Latin word senior means "older," and it's the basis of respectful terms in many languages, like señor in Spanish and sire in French.
Vocabulary lists containing senior
Ancient Wisdom: Synonyms for "Old"
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Graham's Top 50 Words, in terms of relevance
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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:
Kai Mathey, senior vice president of partnerships at Super Age, emphasized that my score was rough and that results will become more accurate as the data set grows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Low valuations and strong fundamentals in subsectors like senior housing and data centers argue for a selective approach.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
"It's still a relatively new thing to have recycling bins when we're away from home," said Angela Spiteri, senior marketing manager at WRAP.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
She’s 17 years my senior, so when they got married, I was a kid — he became my big brother and was a masculine figure in my life and all that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
For the rest of the war, he served essentially as a senior civilian advisor and administrator.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Senior club sources have said they found the comments "absolutely bizarre", and that it was "at best naive and at worst quite manipulative, and that is not a good look".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Senior author Dr. Fayle from Queen Mary University of London said the disruption could eventually have evolutionary consequences.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Senior leaders at Paramount are expected to spend the weekend completing leadership and integration strategies for the combined company in advance of Tuesday’s expected close.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
California Senior Alliance, California Professional Firefighters and other groups back the measure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Duntz’s story concerned a father and son who shall here be known as John Senior and John Junior.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
"It's definitely a moment in time. The longer the game went on, Jurgen was taking off the seniors and putting another one of the boys on. It was an incredible show of belief," says Inglethorpe.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
In any event, few seniors will experience an appreciable increase in drug premiums next year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Like many seniors who live in homes with more than one story, you have a problem that won’t go away by ignoring it.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
She has mostly stuck to promoting her decades-long record on the campaign trail, which has recently focused on increased healthcare access for seniors, workforce development and Social Security benefit increases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
And Chas practically pulled Megan away, leading her off to where the seniors were sitting.
From "Winger" by Andrew Smith
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.
