VocabauraVOCABAURA

old

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ohld
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈoʊld

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

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

  2. Of a perishable item, having existed for most of, or more than, its shelf life.

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

  4. Having existed or lived for the specified time.

  5. used especially of persons

    Having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age

  6. Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.

noun

  1. A mental health condition in which a person feels an overwhelming obsessive desire to possess and protect another person, sometimes with an inability to accept failure or rejection.

  2. Australiauncountable

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

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

More ways to use old

  • “His mother is very old.”adjective

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “old”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

old friendold daysold house

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: of an object or concept or relationship or etc

Antonyms

Sense: of an object or concept or relationship or etc

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Keep learning “old” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.

Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.