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View synonyms for old

old

[ ohld ]

adjective

, old·er [ohl, -der], old·est [ohl, -dist] or eld·er [el, -der], eld·est [el, -dist].
  1. far advanced in the years of one's or its life:

    an old man;

    an old horse;

    an old tree.

    Antonyms: young

  2. of or relating to the latter part of the life or term of existence of a person or thing:

    old age.

  3. as if or appearing to be far advanced in years:

    Worry had made him old.

  4. having lived or existed for a specified time: a century-old organization.

    a man 30 years old;

    a century-old organization.

  5. having lived or existed as specified with relation to younger or newer persons or things:

    Jim is our oldest boy.

  6. having been aged for a specified time:

    This whiskey is eight years old.

  7. having been aged for a comparatively long time:

    old brandy.

  8. long known or in use:

    the same old excuse.

  9. overfamiliar to the point of tedium:

    Some jokes get old fast.

    Synonyms: early, olden

  10. belonging to the past:

    the good old days.

  11. having been in existence since the distant past:

    a fine old family.

  12. no longer in general use:

    Our dishwasher is an old model, so replacement parts are hard to find.

  13. 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.

  14. of, relating to, or originating at an earlier period or date:

    old maps.

  15. former; having been so formerly:

    I ran into my old piano teacher the other day.

  16. There may have been an old land bridge between Asia and Alaska.

  17. Old, (of a language) in its oldest known period, as attested by the earliest written records:

    Old Czech.

  18. He's an old hand at welding.

  19. of long standing; having been such for a comparatively long time:

    an old and trusted employee.

  20. (of colors) dull, faded, or subdued:

    old rose.

  21. deteriorated through age or long use; worn, decayed, or dilapidated:

    old clothes.

  22. Physical Geography. (of landforms) far advanced in reduction by erosion or the like.
  23. sedate, sensible, mature, or wise:

    That child seems old beyond his years.

  24. (used to indicate affection, familiarity, disparagement, or a personalization): that dirty old jalopy.

    good old Bob;

    that dirty old jalopy.

  25. Informal. (used as an intensive) great; uncommon:

    a high old time.



noun

  1. Usually the old. (used with a plural verb) old persons collectively:

    appropriations to care for the old.

  2. 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.

  3. old or former time, often time long past:

    days of old.

old

/ əʊld /

adjective

  1. having lived or existed for a relatively long time

    an old man

    an old country

    old wine

    an old house

    an old tradition

    1. of or relating to advanced years or a long life

      old age

    2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the old

    3. people of all ages
  2. decrepit or senile
  3. worn with age or use

    old clothes

    an old car

    1. postpositive having lived or existed for a specified period

      a child who is six years old

    2. ( in combination )

      a six-year-old child

    3. ( as noun in combination )

      a six-year-old

  4. 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

  5. capital when part of a name designating the form of a language in which the earliest known records are written

    Old English

  6. prenominal familiar through long acquaintance or repetition

    an old friend

    an old excuse

  7. practised; hardened

    old in cunning

  8. prenominaloften preceded bygood cherished; dear: used as a term of affection or familiarity

    good old George

  9. informal.
    with any of several nouns used as a familiar form of address to a person

    old thing

    old stick

    old fellow

    old bean

  10. skilled through long experience (esp in the phrase an old hand )
  11. out-of-date; unfashionable
  12. remote or distant in origin or time of origin

    an old culture

  13. prenominal former; previous

    my old house was small

    1. prenominal established for a relatively long time

      an old member

    2. ( in combination )

      old-established

  14. sensible, wise, or mature

    old beyond one's years

  15. (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
  16. (intensifier) (esp in phrases such as a good old time, any old thing, any old how, etc)
  17. (of crops) harvested late
  18. good old days
    an earlier period of time regarded as better than the present
  19. little old informal.
    indicating affection, esp humorous affection

    my little old wife

  20. the old one or the old gentleman informal.
    a jocular name for Satan
“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


noun

  1. an earlier or past time (esp in the phrase of old )

    in days of old

“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
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Usage

Many people nowadays prefer to talk about older people rather than old people , and the phrase the old is best avoided altogether
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Derived Forms

  • ˈoldish, adjective
  • ˈoldness, noun
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Other Words From

  • old·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of old1

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”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of old1

Old English eald; related to Old Saxon ald, Old High German, German alt, Latin altus high
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Idioms and Phrases

  • any old
  • chip off the old block
  • comfortable as an old shoe
  • dirty joke (old man)
  • get the air (old heave-ho)
  • no fool like an old fool
  • of old
  • ripe old age
  • same old story
  • settle a score (old scores)
  • stamping ground, old
  • teach an old dog new tricks
  • up to one's old tricks
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Example Sentences

So here I am in my requisite Lululemon pants, grunting along to an old hip-hop song at a most ungodly hour.

It would became one of the first great mysteries in the United States of America, as it was only then 23 years old.

To borrow an old right-wing talking point, these people are angry no matter what we do.

He plays an aging punk rocker and I play the drummer from his old band.

Twelve-year-old dance prodigy Maddie Ziegler has suffered the wrath of Dance Moms tyrant Abby Lee Miller.

Davy looked around and saw an old man coming toward them across the lawn.

His wife stood smiling and waving, the boys shouting, as he disappeared in the old rockaway down the sandy road.

Old Mrs. Wurzel and the buxom but not too well-favoured heiress of the house of Grains were at the head of the table.

Vicars' wives had come and gone, but all had submitted, some after a brief struggle, to old Mrs. Wurzel's sway.

But with all her advantages Miss Solomonson failed with the old lord, and she abuses him to this day.

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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.

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