vintage

American  

[vin-tij] / ˈvɪn tɪdʒ /

noun

1. the wine from a particular harvest or crop.

2. the annual produce of the grape harvest, especially with reference to the wine obtained.

3. an exceptionally fine wine from the crop of a good year.

4. the time of gathering grapes, or of winemaking.

5. the act or process of producing wine; winemaking.

6. the class of a dated object with reference to era of production or use.

   a hat of last year's vintage.

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adjective

1. of or relating to wines or winemaking.

2. being of a specified vintage.

   Vintage wines are usually more expensive than nonvintage wines.

3. representing the high quality of a past time.

   vintage cars;

   vintage movies.

4. old-fashioned or obsolete.

   vintage jokes.

5. being the best of its kind.

   They praised the play as vintage O'Neill.

verb (used with object)

vintaged, vintaging

1. to gather or harvest (grapes) for wine-making.

   The muscats were vintaged too early.

2. to make (wine) from grapes.

   a region that vintages a truly great champagne.

verb (used without object)

vintaged, vintaging

1. to harvest grapes for wine-making.

vintage British  

/ ˈvɪntɪdʒ /

noun

1. the wine obtained from a harvest of grapes, esp in an outstandingly good year, referred to by the year involved, the district, or the vineyard

2. the harvest from which such a wine is obtained

3. 1. the harvesting of wine grapes

   2. the season of harvesting these grapes or for making wine

4. a time of origin

   a car of Edwardian vintage

5. informal a group of people or objects of the same period

   a fashion of last season's vintage

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adjective

1. (of wine) of an outstandingly good year

2. representative of the best and most typical

   vintage Shakespeare

3. of lasting interest and importance; venerable; classic

   vintage films

4. old-fashioned; dated

verb

1. (tr) to gather (grapes) or make (wine)

Other Word Forms

• nonvintage
  adjective
• unvintaged
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of vintage

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (noun), from Anglo-French, from vint(er) vintner + -age -age; replacing Middle English vendage, vindage, from Anglo-French; Old French vendange, from Latin vīndēmia “grape-gathering,” equivalent to vīn(um) “grape, wine” ( see wine) + dēm(ere) “to take from” (from dē- de- + (e)mere “to buy, obtain, take”) + -ia -y ³

Explanation

A vintage is the specific year that a wine was made. Different vintages are better than others. This word is mainly associated with wine. Some wine drinkers can actually identify a wine’s vintage based on smell or taste. Also, this word can refer to things that are old, yet also kind of cool. An antique car is known as a vintage automobile. There are also vintage bikes and watches. Watch out for the word vintage though: sometimes it just means old or used, like a vintage clothing store.

Example Sentences

Her arms host an array of intricate tattoos; I spot a raven, a skull and a vintage lace fan.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

Oliver Kahn was in goal for that agonising, stoppage-time turnaround against Manchester United - two years later, the German stopper would prove Bayern Munich's hero against a vintage Valencia in Milan.

From BBC • May 28, 2026

I do like vintage stores and stuff like that.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

The Kaplans, along with Sharon Kroner, whose neighboring vintage boutique Owl Talk is facing the same fate, wrote to Systems Real Estate, citing SB 1103.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

He’d been cool with us at first, but Stan had warmed him up fast, telling him what we were up to, stressing our desire for the cheapest shirts available—any color, any size, any vintage.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Related Words

• wine