old
Pronunciation: /əʊld/
adjective ( older, oldest)
- made or built long ago: the old quarter of the town
- possessed or used for a long time: he gave his old clothes away
- informal, chiefly US boring or tiresome, especially as a result of repetition or overfamiliarity: I wish she’d shut up—it’s getting old
- 2
- used to refer to a thing which has been replaced by something similar: we moved back into our old house
- dating from far back; long-established or known: we greeted each other like old friends I get sick of the same old routine
- denoting someone who formerly attended a specified school: an old Etonian
- (of a form of a language) as used in former or earliest times.
Phrases
-
any old
- any item of a specified type (used to show that no particular individual is in question): any old room would have done
-
any old how
- in no particular order: they’ve dropped things just any old how
-
as old as the hills
- very old (often used in exaggerated statements): the technology we’re using is as old as the hills
-
be old enough to be someone's father (or mother)
- informal be much older than someone (used to suggest that a romantic or sexual relationship between the people concerned is inappropriate): he was furious with her for wasting herself on a man old enough to be her father
-
for old times' sake
- see sake1.
-
of old
-
the old days
- a period in the past, typically regarded as significantly better or worse than the present: it was easier in the old days we are less confident than in the good old days
-
the Old Firm
- informal (in Scotland) a name for Celtic and Rangers Football Clubs:
-
you can't put an old head on young shoulders
- proverb you can’t expect a young person to have the wisdom or maturity associated with older people.
Origin:
Old English ald, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch oud and German alt, from an Indo-European root meaning 'adult', shared by Latin alere 'nourish'