time-honoured

British

adjective

having been observed for a long time and sanctioned by custom

"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

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.

Adopting the time-honoured tradition of ignoring anything your drummer says, they pushed ahead.

From BBC • Jan. 5, 2026

In a reversal of the time-honoured strategy, it was the latest underwhelming display delivered by Thomas Tuchel's side that sucked the life out of the atmosphere.

From BBC • Sep. 6, 2025

Also, the two oldest Grand Slam tournaments are generally also more reluctant to deviate from time-honoured traditions.

From BBC • Aug. 21, 2025

In other words they, as in the time-honoured adage about Caesar’s wife, must be above suspicion.

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2024

Desolation and solitude spread their wings around its time-honoured precincts, and cast a halo of their own over its crumbling walls.

From Baron Bruno Or, the Unbelieving Philosopher, and Other Fairy Stories by Morgan, Louisa

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023