old

/oʊld/

/əʊld/

Other forms: older; oldest; olds

Use the adjective old to describe someone who's been alive for a long time. When you're 30, 60 seems old, and when you're 60, 90 seems old. When you're 90, face it, you're old!

The adjective old also means former. It can be fun to visit your favorite teachers at your old elementary school, or to drive through your old neighborhood. You can use old to describe something of long duration, like your old friends from camp who you visit every summer. Old also has numerous informal or slang uses, like the phrase "any old," which you'd use to say, "I don't want just any old job; I want to be a circus clown."

Definitions of old

1. adjective

   (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
   “his mother is very old”

   “a ripe old age”

   “how old are you?”

   synonyms:

   experienced, experient

   having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation

   mature

   having reached full natural growth or development

   aged, elderly, older, senior

   advanced in years; (`aged' is pronounced as two syllables)

   aged, of age

   having attained a specific age; (`aged' is pronounced as one syllable)

   ageing, aging, senescent

   growing old

   ancient

   very old

   anile

   of or like a feeble old woman

   centenarian

   being at least 100 years old

   darkened

   (of fabrics and paper) grown dark in color over time

   doddering, doddery, gaga, senile

   mentally or physically infirm with age

   emeritus

   honorably retired from assigned duties and retaining your title along with the additional title `emeritus' as in `professor emeritus'

   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

   middle-aged

   being roughly between 45 and 65 years old

   nonagenarian

   being from 90 to 99 years old

   octogenarian

   being from 80 to 89 years old

   oldish

   somewhat elderly

   over-the-hill, overage, overaged, superannuated

   too old to be useful

   sexagenarian

   being from 60 to 69 years old

   venerable

   impressive by reason of age

   senior

   older; higher in rank; longer in length of tenure or service

   antonyms:

   young

   (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth

   immature

   not yet mature

   new

   not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered

   one-year-old

   one year of age

   two-year-old

   two years of age

   three-year-old

   three years of age

   four-year-old

   four years of age

   five-year-old

   five years of age

   adolescent, teen, teenage, teenaged

   being of the age 13 through 19

   infantile

   being or befitting or characteristic of an infant

   boyish, boylike, schoolboyish

   befitting or characteristic of a young boy

   childlike, childly

   befitting a young child

   early

   very young

   girlish, schoolgirlish

   befitting or characteristic of a young girl

   junior

   including or intended for youthful persons

   little, small

   (of children and animals) young, immature

   newborn

   recently born

   preadolescent, preteen

   of or relating to or designed for children between the ages of 9 and 12

   puppyish, puppylike

   characteristic of a puppy

   tender

   young and immature

   youngish

   somewhat young

   vernal, young, youthful

   suggestive of youth; vigorous and fresh

   junior

   younger; lower in rank; shorter in length of tenure or service
2. adjective

   of long duration; not new
   “old tradition”

   “old house”

   “old country”

   “old friendships”

   “old money”

   synonyms:

   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

   age-old, antique

   belonging to or lasting from times long ago

   antediluvian, antiquated, archaic

   so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period

   antique

   made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age

   auld

   a Scottish word

   hand-down, hand-me-down

   passed on from one person to another

   hoary, rusty

   ancient

   immemorial

   long past; beyond the limits of memory or tradition or recorded history

   long-ago

   belonging to time long gone

   longtime

   of long duration

   patched

   mended usually clumsily by covering a hole with a patch

   secondhand, used

   previously used or owned by another

   sunset

   of a declining industry or technology

   yellow, yellowed

   changed to a yellowish color by age

   past

   earlier than the present time; no longer current

   worn

   affected by wear; damaged by long use

   antonyms:

   new

   not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered

   current

   occurring in or belonging to the present time

   fresh

   recently made, produced, or harvested

   modern

   belonging to the modern era; since the Middle Ages

   bran-new, brand-new, spic-and-span, spick-and-span

   conspicuously new

   fresh

   (of a cycle) beginning or occurring again

   hot, red-hot

   newest or most recent

   new-sprung, newborn

   having just or recently arisen or come into existence

   newfound

   newly discovered

   novel, refreshing

   pleasantly new or different

   parvenu, parvenue

   of or characteristic of a parvenu

   recent

   new

   radical, revolutionary

   markedly new or introducing radical change

   rising

   newly come into prominence

   sunrise

   of an industry or technology; new and developing

   untested, untried

   not yet proved or subjected to testing

   unused

   not yet put into use

   virgin

   being used or worked for the first time

   young

   being in its early stage
3. adjective

   just preceding something else in time or order
   “my old house was larger”

   synonyms: previous

   preceding

   existing or coming before
4. adjective

   belonging to some prior time
   synonyms: erstwhile, former, one-time, onetime, quondam, sometime

   past

   earlier than the present time; no longer current
5. adjective

   skilled through long experience
   “an old offender”

   synonyms: older

   experienced, experient

   having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation
6. noun

   past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old')
   type of:

   past, past times, yesteryear

   the time that has elapsed
7. adjective

   (used for emphasis) very familiar
   “good old boy”

   “same old story”

   synonyms:

   familiar

   well known or easily recognized
8. adjective

   (used informally especially for emphasis)
   “had us a high old time”

   synonyms: honest-to-god, honest-to-goodness, sure-enough

   echt, genuine

   not fake or counterfeit