old

1 of 2

adjective

ˈōld

for sense 9 usually

ˈōl

older; oldest

: dating from the remote past : ancient

old traditions

: persisting from an earlier time

an old ailment

they brought up the same old argument

: of long standing

an old friend

: distinguished from an object of the same kind by being of an earlier date

many still used the old name

capitalized : belonging to an early period in the development of a language or literature

Old Persian

: having existed for a specified period of time

a child three years old

: of, relating to, or originating in a past era

old chronicles record the event

: advanced in years or age

an old person

: showing the characteristics of age

looked old at 20

: experienced

an old trooper speaking of the last war

: former

his old students

: showing the effects of time or use : worn, aged

old shoes

: no longer in use : discarded

old rags

: of a grayish or dusty color

old mauve

: tiresome

gets old fast

: long familiar

same old story

good old Joe

—used as an intensive

a high old time

—used to express an attitude of affection or amusement

a big old dogflex the old bicepsany old time

old

2 of 2

noun

: one of a specified age

—usually used in combination

a 3-year-old

: old or earlier time

—used in the phrase of old

the cavalry of old

Choose the Right Synonym for old

old, ancient, venerable, antique, antiquated, archaic, obsolete mean having come into existence or use in the more or less distant past.

old may apply to either actual or merely relative length of existence.

old houses

an old sweater of mine

ancient applies to occurrence, existence, or use in or survival from the distant past.

ancient accounts of dragons

venerable stresses the impressiveness and dignity of great age.

the family's venerable patriarch

antique applies to what has come down from a former or ancient time.

collected antique Chippendale furniture

antiquated implies being discredited or outmoded or otherwise inappropriate to the present time.

antiquated teaching methods

archaic implies having the character or characteristics of a much earlier time.

the play used archaic language to convey a sense of period

obsolete may apply to something regarded as no longer acceptable or useful even though it is still in existence.

a computer that makes earlier models obsolete

Example Sentences

Adjective He's an old man now. We rented an old black-and-white movie. There's an old saying that good fences make good neighbors. a new approach to an old problem She wore a T-shirt and an old pair of jeans. I wish you would stop wearing that dirty old hat! The hotel was old and dingy. the oldest known civilization in the region The house we live in is 50 years old. We went back to visit our old neighborhood. Noun Young and old alike will enjoy the movie. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The 39-year-old served as an assistant coach for the UChicago women's soccer team from 2015 to 2017.

Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY, 4 Dec. 2022 Iran has been gripped by months of protests, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old from Iran’s Kurdistan region, who died in the hospital three days after she had been detained by the morality police in September.

Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 4 Dec. 2022 The 23-year-old grew up in Safety Harbor in a family that loved nature.

Zachary T. Sampson, Sun Sentinel, 4 Dec. 2022 In her obituary, Goncaleves' family described the 21-year-old as strong, fair, tough, dedicated, beautiful and loving.

Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 4 Dec. 2022 Talaysia is a 16-year-old with a great sense of humor.

BostonGlobe.com, 4 Dec. 2022 The 24-year-old scored the team's winning goal against Iran on Tuesday, but collided with the goalkeeper and ended up in the hospital.

Roxana Saberi, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2022 Across his 75 starts in the junior series, the 22-year-old has racked up four sprint race victories and eight podiums overall.

Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Dec. 2022 The 23-year-old followed up his 30-point performance on Friday night against the Chicago Bulls with 21 points and five assists in 28 minutes.

C.j. Holmes, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Dec. 2022

Noun

During much of the session, Walton reminisced wistfully, as any bar stool companion might, talking about decades-old pie-eating contests and his beloved English setter Ol’ Roy, who gave his name to the popular dog-food brand.

Steven Zeitchik, Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2022 The novel is told from the viewpoint of Davy Ross, a lonely 13-year old who is forced to move in with his estranged mother after his grandmother dies.

USA Today, 20 June 2021 There’s a new old on the market: The early aughts are now vintage.

New York Times, 22 Apr. 2021 Andrea Vallone, a 27-year old who works at a major tech company, started banking on Hinge after hearing about the idea through Kawahata.

Kaya Yurieff And Sara Ashley O'brien, CNN, 2 Nov. 2020 Tiz the Law, a majestic-looking colt with a striking white blaze covering most of his face, has established himself as the dominant 3-year old of this year and the heavy favorite in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.

Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2020 Joi also testified on behalf of a change in state law that eliminated work permits for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Gina Barton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 22 May 2020 In 2018, just 25.6% of 16-year-olds were licensed to drive, down from 46.2% in 1983, according to a study by Michael Sivak, managing director of Sivak Applied Research.

Keith Naughton, Bloomberg.com, 10 May 2020 This showed that of the 14-18-year-olds who could read fluently, nearly 30% could not apply these reading skills to understand how to use an Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) based on written instructions on the packet.

Azeez Gupta, Quartz India, 3 Feb. 2020 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'old.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.