oldadjective
uk/əʊld/us/oʊld/old adjective (NOT YOUNG/NEW)
A1 having lived or existed for many years:
unsuitable because intended for older people:
More examples
- A group of old men sat playing dominoes.
- Many buildings in the old part of the city are falling down, and the government has no money to repair them.
- As people get older, they often become set in their ways.
- It would be a sacrilege to put a neon sign on that beautiful old building.
- There's some wonderful calligraphy in these old manuscripts.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Describing people who are old
- aged
- ageing
- ageless
- aging
- as old as Methuselah idiom
- day
- elderly
- foot
- for a man/woman/person of his/her years idiom
- gaga
- geriatric
- grand old age idiom
- grey
- have had its/your day idiom
- have one foot in the grave idiom
- pensionable
- sprightly
- spry
- superannuated
- year
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old adjective (WHAT AGE)
A1 used to describe or ask about someone's age:
More examples
- An adult under British law is someone over 18 years old.
- Most children in the UK remain in full-time education until they are at least 16 years old.
- How old is his daughter?
- The trial was held in camera because the accused was only 14 years old.
- He asked me how old I was and, lying through my teeth, I said '29'.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Describing age & birthdays
- a ripe old age idiom
- age group
- age limit
- aged
- be knocking (on) 60, 70, etc. idiom
- gone
- junior
- nonagenarian
- octogenarian
- on the right/wrong side of 40, 50, etc. idiom
- put years on sb idiom
- rising
- senior
- take years off sb idiom
- teens
- this side of sth idiom
- turn
- twenty-first
- when sb was a (mere) twinkle in their father's eye idiom
- year
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old adjective (FROM THE PAST)
A2 [ before noun ] from a period in the past:
More examples
- After six months of chopping and changing, we've decided to go back to our old system.
- Just by coincidence, I met my old school-mate again 50 years later.
- It will only complicate the situation if we invite his old girlfriend as well.
- The new Prime Minister is cultivating relationships with old Eastern Bloc countries.
- The new house is not dissimilar to our old one except that it's a bit bigger.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
In the past
- ago
- any more idiom
- anymore
- back in the day idiom
- before
- clock
- dot
- late
- memory
- more
- no longer idiom
- of late idiom
- of old idiom
- once
- past
- the status quo ante
- the week/month/year before last idiom
- the year dot idiom
- use
- used
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old adjective (LANGUAGE)
a language when it was in an early stage in its development
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Forms of languages & specialist dialects
- acrolect
- argot
- basilect
- cant
- colloquialism
- legalese
- lingo
- lingua franca
- metalanguage
- newspeak
- non-standard
- oral
- pidgin
- plain English
- rhyming slang
- slang
- slangy
- speak
- telegramese
- tongue
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old adjective (VERY FAMILIAR)
A2 [ before noun ] (especially of a friend) known for a long time:
[ before noun ] informal used before someone's name when you are referring to or talking to them, to show that you know that person well and like them:
More examples
- Dashed decent of you, old boy!
- They did a few old hits as/for an encore.
- "I can't eat this meat - it's too tough." "You old fusspot - give it here and I'll eat it!"
- He's a miserable old git.
- He's an insipid old bore.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Lasting for a long time
- all-night
- ancient
- be going strong idiom
- changeless
- deep
- die hard idiom
- epic
- incorruptible
- languish
- lasting
- lengthy
- lingering
- man and boy idiom
- marathon
- never-ending
- of old idiom
- ongoing
- overlong
- strong
- sustainable
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Idiom(s)
oldnoun [ plural ]
uk/əʊld/us/oʊld/More examples
- The old are particularly vulnerable to these fraudsters.
- These holidays are aimed at the old.
- The old tend to have a different perspective on war.
old people considered together as a group:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
The elderly
- a ripe old age idiom
- aged
- ageism
- agism
- centenarian
- crock
- geriatric
- geriatrics
- gerontology
- octogenarian
- old age
- old age pensioner
- old boy
- old girl
- senile
- senior citizen
- septuagenarian
- seventies
- sexagenarian
- the gray dollar
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