old
Forms
- Comparative
- older
- Superlative
- oldest
- Plural
- olds
Definitions
1.Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.
- 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.Having been used and thus no longer new or unused.
- I find that an old toothbrush is good to clean the keyboard with.
3.Having existed or lived for the specified time.
- My great-grandfather lived to be a hundred and one 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.
4.Of an earlier time.
- But over my old life, a new life had formed.
- The footpath follows the route of an old railway line.
- That is the old way of doing things; now we do it this way.
1.A person older than oneself, especially an adult in relation to a teenager.(slang)
- I'm not letting an old wreck my good time today.
- I'm not letting any olds wreck my good time today.
2.One's parents.(slang)
- I had to sneak out to meet my girlfriend and tell the olds I was going to the library.
3.A typically dark-coloured lager brewed by the traditional top-fermentation method.
- 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.
4.People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group.
- A civilised society should always look after the old in the community.
Frequency
Overall
Very common· #174
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Common
- General reading & writing
- Very common
- Academic
- Uncommon
- Literature
- Common
Related words
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English old, oold, from Old English ald, eald (“old, aged, ancient, antique, primeval”), from Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“grown-up”), originally a participle form, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós (“grown, tall, big”).
Cognates