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old

[ohld]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective

far advanced in the years of one's or its life: an old man; an old horse; an old tree.

of or pertaining to the latter part of the life or term of existence of a person or thing: old age.

as if or appearing to be far advanced in years: Worry had made him old.

having lived or existed for a specified time: a man 30 years old; a century-old organization.

having lived or existed as specified with relation to younger or newer persons or things: Jim is our oldest boy.

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having been aged for a specified time: This whiskey is eight years old.

having been aged for a comparatively long time: old brandy.

long known or in use: the same old excuse.

overfamiliar to the point of tedium: Some jokes get old fast.

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: This typewriter is an old model.

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, pertaining to, or originating at an earlier period or date: old maps.

15.

prehistoric; ancient: There may have been an old land bridge between Asia and Alaska.

16.

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

17.

experienced: He's an old hand at welding.

18.

of long standing; having been such for a comparatively long time: an old and trusted employee.

19.

(of colors) dull, faded, or subdued: old rose.

20.

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

21.

Physical Geography. (of landforms) far advanced in reduction by erosion or the like.

22.

sedate, sensible, mature, or wise: That child seems old beyond his years.

23.

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

24.

Informal. (used as an intensive) great; uncommon: a high old time.

25.

former; having been so formerly: a dinner for his old students.

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noun

26.

(used with a plural verb) old persons collectively (usually preceded by the): appropriations to care for the old.

27.

a person or animal of a specified age or age group (used in combination): a class for six-year-olds; a horse race for three-year-olds.

28.

old or former time, often time long past: days of old.

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Old is always a great word to know.

So is doohickey. Does it mean:

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

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Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English eald, ald; cognate with Dutch old, German alt, Gothic altheis; akin to Old Norse ala to nourish

Related forms

old·ness, noun

Synonyms
1. Old, aged, elderly all mean well along in years. An old person has lived long, nearly to the end of the usual period of life. An aged person is very far advanced in years, and is usually afflicted with the infirmities of age. An elderly person is somewhat old, but usually has the mellowness, satisfactions, and joys of age ahead. 9. olden, early.

Antonyms
1. young.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To old

Example Sentences

The old ways of limiting the supply of surplus labor are disappearing.

He begins chatting with the regulars and they all end up having a high old time.

The banning of a song has highlighted old racial sensitivities.

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The old ways of limiting the supply of surplus labor are disappearing.

He begins chatting with the regulars and they all end up having a high old time.

The banning of a song has highlighted old racial sensitivities.

The planet orbits inside a disk of material around the star that's no more than two million years old.

What to do if your mattress company does not take your old mattress with them when you buy a new one.

Soon, there were other rooms adjoining the old travel trailer, then a second story with a patio and tiny third floor.

Old food traditions rarely bring to mind quick meals.

Most phones for old folks offer nothing but a large-text display, big buttons and nothing else.

On a recent tour, the outlines of the old trolley tracks were still visible through an inch of dust.

Joining the euro meant that countries could carry on with old habits for longer.

Rescue old wood windows from a trip to the landfill by turning them into picture frames.

But after a while, you can mentally flip the image to see an old face.

The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world, according to the old saying.

Old garden roses are the forerunners of modern hybrid teas.

Apple's new iPad makes the old one look fat and ugly.

Transform old pots and pans into usable household accessories.

The new police superseded the old system of watchmen.

Will needed to retire an old surfboard and, not wanting to toss it, decided to turn it into an outdoor shower.

Tread is a brand which sells recycled bags fashioned from old truck tire inner-tubes.

West's old growth forests may look thinner in the future.

Sometimes old photographs hold their secrets for years.

In her backyard, she repurposes old umbrella holders for planters and wine crates for storing supplies.

The first was a hundred thousand years old, and the second was around eight million years old.

Technology has unlocked more oil from old fields, challenging forecasts that reserves are drying out.

Old age is tough on brains, sapping them of a variety of abilities.

By merging old photographs with new mapping technology, this site fuses new connections between the generations.

Along with the other noteworthy roses shown on these pages, the following old roses are favorites of rosarians for fragrance.

We try hard to shed our old image as stodgy and out of it.

There is a six-year-old and a two-year old that live a few.

Neuroscientists have successfully strengthened old memories in rats, according to.

Turn old goblets and trophies into sparkling candle holders.

But new research shows old houses in old neighborhoods may.

However, your comments are important to us, so you'll still be able to read the comments on old stories.

It is worth repeating the old saying, correlation does not infer causation.

See how a designer combines the best of old and new for an inviting contemporary look.

Biotechnology companies are betting that pairing old drugs can be a better business than inventing new ones from scratch.

The old guy in the corner at a college party can come off as creepy.

Old holes made in search of oil and gas have been abandoned but may be providing paths for.

Unlike the old favorites that need cold winters to bloom, these newer varieties thrive without winter chill.

In the last few years, as old stadiums have been torn down, the teams have discovered new sources of revenue in the rubble.

Playing an instrument as a kid leads to a sharper mind in old age, according to a new study.

Old green wallpaper darkened and enclosed an already tight area.

There are plenty of old wives' tales regarding how to tell whether a pregnant woman is going to have a boy or a girl.

To complement the new seat wall, the old staircase was rebuilt and resurfaced.

Understanding how they work may reveal the keys to extending human life span while banishing diseases of old age.

It's an old technique, designed to produce juicy meat and rich brown skin.

Each year new models come out making old ones obsolete.

Just repeating the same old factoids again and again does not make them true.

The inspiration was the old saw that no two snowflakes are alike.

Old salvaged oars become handrails for the cabin's stairway and complement the white beadboard walls.

With a little creativity, turn an old artwork frame and drawer organizer into a family message center.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

old (əʊld)

—*adj* (often preceded by good)
1.	having lived or existed for a relatively long time: an old man; an old tradition; old wine; an old house; an old country
2.	a. of or relating to advanced years or a long life: old age
	b. (as collective noun; preceded by the): the old
	c. old and young people of all ages
3.	decrepit or senile
4.	worn with age or use: old clothes; an old car
5.	a. (postpositive) having lived or existed for a specified period: a child who is six years old
	b. (in combination): a six-year-old child
	c. (as noun in combination): a six-year-old
6.	(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
7.	(capital when part of a name) designating the form of a language in which the earliest known records are written: Old English
8.	(prenominal) familiar through long acquaintance or repetition: an old friend; an old excuse
9.	practised; hardened: old in cunning
10.	cherished; dear: used as a term of affection or familiarity: good old George
11.	informal ( with any of several nouns ) used as a familiar form of address to a person: old thing; old bean; old stick; old fellow
12.	skilled through long experience (esp in the phrase an old hand)
13.	out-of-date; unfashionable
14.	remote or distant in origin or time of origin: an old culture
15.	(prenominal) former; previous: my old house was small
16.	a. (prenominal) established for a relatively long time: an old member
	b. (in combination): old-established
17.	sensible, wise, or mature: old beyond one's years
18.	youthful See also mature (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
19.	(intensifier) (esp in phrases such as a good old time, any old thing, any old how, etc)
20.	(of crops) harvested late
21.	good old days an earlier period of time regarded as better than the present
22.	informal little old indicating affection, esp humorous affection: my little old wife
23.	informal the old one, the old gentleman a jocular name for Satan

—n
24.	an earlier or past time (esp in the phrase of old): in days of old

[Old English eald; related to Old Saxon ald, Old High German, German alt, Latin altus high]

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

'oldish

—*adj*

'oldness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

old

O.E. ald (Anglian), eald (W.Saxon), from W.Gmc. *althas "grown up, adult" (cf. O.Fris. ald, Goth. alþeis, Du. oud, Ger. alt), originally a pp. stem of a verb meaning "grow, nourish" (cf. Goth. alan "to grow up," O.N. ala "to nourish"), from PIE base *al- "to grow, nourish" (cf. Gk. aldaino "make

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grow, strengthen," althein, althainein "to get well;" L. alere "to feed, nourish, bring up, increase," altus "high," lit. grown tall, almus "nurturing, nourishing," alumnus "fosterling, step-child;" O.Ir. alim "I nourish"). The usual PIE root is *sen- (cf. senior). A few IE languages distinguish words for "old" (vs. young) from words for "old" (vs. new), and some have separate words for aged persons as opposed to old things. L. senex was used of aged living things, mostly persons, while vetus (lit. "having many years") was used of inanimate things. Gk. geraios was used mostly of humans; Gk. palaios was used mostly of things, of persons only in a derogatory sense. Gk. also had arkhaios, lit. "belonging to the beginning," which parallels Fr. ancien, used mostly with ref. to things "of former times." O.E. also had fyrn "ancient," related to O.E. feor "far, distant" (see far, and cf. Goth. fairneis, O.N. forn "old, of old, of former times," O.H.G. firni "old, experienced"). The original O.E. vowel is preserved in Scots auld. The original comp. and superl. retained in particular uses elder, eldest, also alderman). Pseudo-archaic mock-antique variant olde is attested from 1927. Oldie "an old tune or film" is from 1940. First record of old-timer is from 1860. Expression old as the hills first recorded 1819. The good old days dates from 1828. Of old "of old times" is from c.1386. Old Glory for "the American flag" is first attested 1862. Old maid "woman who remains single well beyond the usual marrying age" is from 1530; the card game is attested by that name from 1844. Old man "husband, father, boss" is from 1854, earlier (1830) military slang for "commanding officer;" old lady "wife, mother" is attested from c.1775. Old English is attested from 1849 as a type of black-letter font.

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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

old

In addition to the idioms beginning with old, also see 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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