| English Dictionary |
OLD
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does Old mean?
• OLD (noun)
The noun OLD has 1 sense:
1. past times (especially in the phrase 'in days of old')
Familiarity information: OLD used as a noun is very rare.
• OLD (adjective)
The adjective OLD has 8 senses:
1. (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
2. of long duration; not new
3. (used for emphasis) very familiar
4. skilled through long experience
5. belonging to some prior time
6. very good
7. of a very early stage in development
8. just preceding something else in time or order
Familiarity information: OLD used as an adjective is common.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Past times (especially in the phrase 'in days of old')
Classified under:
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations
Hypernyms ("old" is a kind of...):
past; past times; yesteryear (the time that has elapsed)
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: oldest
Sense 1
Meaning:
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
Context example:
how old are you?
Similar:
ageing; aging; senescent (growing old)
venerable (impressive by reason of age)
sexagenarian (being from 60 to 69 years old)
over-the-hill; overage; overaged; superannuated (too old to be useful)
oldish (somewhat elderly)
octogenarian (being from 80 to 89 years old)
nonagenarian (being from 90 to 99 years old)
middle-aged (being roughly between 45 and 65 years old)
gray; gray-haired; gray-headed; grey; grey-haired; grey-headed; grizzly; hoar; hoary; white-haired (showing characteristics of age, especially having grey or white hair)
emeritus (honorably retired from assigned duties and retaining your title along with the additional title 'emeritus' as in 'professor emeritus')
doddering; doddery; gaga; senile (mentally or physically infirm with age)
darkened ((of fabrics and paper) grown dark in color over time)
centenarian (being at least 100 years old)
anile (of or like a feeble old woman)
ancient (very old)
aged; of age (having attained a specific age; ('aged' is pronounced as one syllable))
aged; elderly; older; senior (advanced in years; ('aged' is pronounced as two syllables))
Also:
mature (having reached full natural growth or development)
experienced; experient (having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation)
senior (older; higher in rank; longer in length of tenure or service)
Attribute:
age (how long something has existed)
Antonym:
young ((used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth)
Derivation:
oldness (the opposite of youngness)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Of long duration; not new
Context example:
old money
Similar:
yellow; yellowed (changed to a yellowish color by age)
sunset (of a declining industry or technology)
secondhand; used (previously used or owned by another)
patched (mended usually clumsily by covering a hole with a patch)
long-time; longtime (having existed or persisted or continued in a particular role or state for a long time)
long-ago (belonging to time long gone)
immemorial (long past; beyond the limits of memory or tradition or recorded history)
auld (a Scottish word)
antique (made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age)
antediluvian; antiquated; archaic (so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period)
age-old; antique (belonging to or lasting from times long ago)
hand-down; hand-me-down (passed on from one person to another)
Also:
worn (affected by wear; damaged by long use)
past (earlier than the present time; no longer current)
noncurrent (not current or belonging to the present time)
stale (lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age)
nonmodern (not modern; of or characteristic of an earlier time)
Attribute:
age (how long something has existed)
Antonym:
new (not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered)
Derivation:
oldness (the quality of being old; the opposite of newness)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(used for emphasis) very familiar
Context example:
same old story
Similar:
familiar (well known or easily recognized)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Skilled through long experience
Synonyms:
old; older
Context example:
the older soldiers
Similar:
experienced; experient (having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Belonging to some prior time
Synonyms:
erstwhile; former; old; one-time; onetime; quondam; sometime
Context example:
her quondam lover
Similar:
past (earlier than the present time; no longer current)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Very good
Synonyms:
bang-up; bully; corking; cracking; dandy; great; groovy; keen; neat; nifty; not bad; old; peachy; slap-up; smashing; swell
Context example:
we had a grand old time
Similar:
good (having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Of a very early stage in development
Context example:
Old High German is High German from the middle of the 9th to the end of the 11th century
Similar:
early (of an early stage in the development of a language or literature)
Domain category:
linguistics (the scientific study of language)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Just preceding something else in time or order
Synonyms:
old; previous
Context example:
my old house was larger
Similar:
preceding (existing or coming before)
Context examples
Then the wolf was very angry, and called Sultan “an old rogue,” and swore he would have his revenge.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
"It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
"I could never dare to walk into the back office of my paper and face old McArdle," said I.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
They looked specifically at individuals aged 25 years and older.
(Poor Diet Kills More People Than Smoking, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The tail, which is about 99 million years old, appears to be brown on the top and white underneath.
(Dinosaur Tail Found in Myanmar, VOA News)
At the same time her own tears fell thick and fast at the joy of meeting her old friend again, and these tears did not need to be wiped away.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
After each repulse, when the old wolf sheered abruptly away from the sharp-toothed object of his desire, he shouldered against a young three- year-old that ran on his blind right side.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Your health will improve too, and your old optimism will return.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
They also responded to similar questions when the children were 7 and 8 years old.
(High amounts of screen time begin as early as infancy, National Institutes of Health)
When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place.
(Benign Tumors, NIH: National Cancer Institute)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"The one who does not risk anything does not gain nor lose" (Breton proverb)
"The best of the things you own, is what is useful to you." (Arabic proverb)
"Have no respect at table and in bed." (Corsican proverb)