old — English Dictionary

Adjective

1. Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.

   Examples

   This is an old bridge.

   an old abandoned building

   an old friend

   More examples (2)

   They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.

   When asked why the devices were retrofitted on older models instead of newer ones, Sarno said the MTA typically uses older car models when making modifications in case there are any unwanted effects.

2. Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time. Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.

   Examples

   The old dog sleeps a lot.

   a wrinkled old man

3. Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time. Of a perishable item, having existed for most of, or more than, its shelf life.

   Examples

   an old loaf of bread

4. Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time. Of a species or language, belonging to a lineage that is distantly related to others.

   Examples

   the ginkgo is one of the oldest living trees

   Basque is the oldest language in Europe

5. Having been used and thus no longer new or unused.

   Examples

   I find that an old toothbrush is good to clean the keyboard with.

6. Having existed or lived for the specified time.

   Examples

   My daughter is six years old.

   How old are they? She’s five years old and he's seven. We also have a young teen and a two-year-old child.

   My great-grandfather lived to be a hundred and one years old.

   More examples (1)

   The day was only a few hours old.

7. Of an earlier time. Former, previous.

   Examples

   I still see my old colleagues.

   My new car is not as good as my old one. a school reunion for Old Etonians

   More examples (1)

   The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.

   But over my old life, a new life had formed.

8. Of an earlier time. That is no longer in existence.

   Examples

   The footpath follows the route of an old railway line.

9. Of an earlier time. Obsolete; out-of-date.

   Examples

   That is the old way of doing things; now we do it this way.

10. Of an earlier time. Familiar.

    Examples

    When he got drunk and quarrelsome they just gave him the old heave-ho.

    She always makes the same old excuses.

    More examples (1)

    Adrian thought it worth while to try out his new slang. ‘I say, you fellows, here's a rum go. Old Biffo was jolly odd this morning. He gave me a lot of pi-jaw about slacking and then invited me to tea. No rotting! He did really.’

11. Of an earlier time. Being a graduate or alumnus of a school, especially a public school.

    Usage

    • UK usage

12. Tiresome after prolonged repetition.

    Examples

    More examples (2)

    Rik: But even great shtick can get old real fast: the dreaded Saturday Night Live syndrome. Jim: Randomness can help - many Living Books have characters that do different things each time you click on them.

    John and I built a small stone house on the head of “Bonetta” Canyon and had a hog killing time all by ourselves. Hunting was our delight at first, until it became old.

    The songs start to get old real fast, and it's easy to get bored after the third song.

    It was the same old thing every week, working and drinking, working and drinking. It became old and I got really sick of it.

    More examples (1)

    Your constant pestering is getting old.

13. Said of subdued colors, particularly reds, pinks and oranges, as if they had faded over time.

    Synonyms

    antique

14. A grammatical intensifier, often used in describing something positive, and combined with another adjective.

    Synonyms

    ol'

    Examples

    We're having a good old time.

    My next car will be a big old SUV.

    More examples (3)

    My wife makes the best little old apple pie in Texas.

    Look at Murphy playing with newest old favorite toy; he loves it!

    any old

15. Indicating affection and familiarity.

    Usage

    • Informal
    • of a person or pet

    Examples

    Finally, when they were all done slobbering around, old Sally introduced us.

16. Designed for a mature audience; unsuitable for children below a certain age.

    Examples

    Monsieur's story is too old for our Juvenile Magazine.

    The text is too old for toddlers, but the colorful photographs are large enough and appropriate for them.

    More examples (3)

    Diane Ehrensaft (1997) finds that middle-class parents typically buy "older" toys for their children to encourage accelerated development.

    If you feel you have to leave something out because it's too horrible, then either the story is too old for the child, or you fail to understand the way your child will accept the rough justice and feel inwardly content at the outcome.

    Bluey: Oh! It's like checkers! Bandit: Yeah, but a lot harder than checkers. Chilli: And so probably a bit old for Bluey, right?

17. Excessive, abundant.

    Usage

    • Obsolete

    Examples

    More examples (1)

    URSULA: Madam, you must come to your uncle. Yonder's old coil at home: it is proved, my Lady Hero hath been falsely accused, the prince and Claudio mightily abused;

Noun

1. People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • invariable
   • plural
   • Plural only
   • Uncountable
   • with the

   Examples

   A civilised society should always look after the old in the community.

2. A person older than oneself, especially an adult in relation to a teenager.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Slang
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   geezeroldieoldster

   Examples

   Near-synonyms: geezer, oldie, oldster; see also Thesaurus:old person

   I'm not letting an old wreck my good time today.

   More examples (1)

   I'm not letting any olds wreck my good time today.

3. One's parents.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Slang
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   I had to sneak out to meet my girlfriend and tell the olds I was going to the library.

4. A typically dark-coloured lager brewed by the traditional top-fermentation method.

   Usage

   • Australia
   • Uncountable

   Antonyms

   new

   Examples

   We crossed to the pub on the corner of Carlisle Street and I ordered two schooners of old for him and one of light for me.

Adjective

1. (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age

   Antonyms

   young

   Examples

   his mother is very old

   a ripe old age

   More examples (1)

   how old are you?

2. of long duration; not new

   Antonyms

   new

   Examples

   old tradition

   old house

   More examples (4)

   old wine

   old country

   old friendships

   old money

3. (used for emphasis) very familiar

   Examples

   good old boy

   same old story

4. skilled through long experience

   Synonyms

   older

   Examples

   an old offender

   the older soldiers

5. belonging to some prior time

   Synonyms

   erstwhileformeronetimeone-timequondamsometime

   Examples

   erstwhile friend

   our former glory

   More examples (2)

   the once capital of the state

   her quondam lover

6. excellent

   Synonyms

   bang-upbullycorkingcrackingdandygreatgroovykeenneatniftynot badpeachyslap-upswellsmashing

   Examples

   he did a bully job

   a neat sports car

   More examples (3)

   had a great time at the party

   you look simply smashing

   we had a grand old time

7. just preceding something else in time or order

   Synonyms

   previous

   Examples

   the previous owner

   my old house was larger

Noun

1. past times

   Broader terms

   pastpast timesyesteryear