old

adjective

1 USED OR NOT NEW having existed for a long time, or having been used a lot before: an old winter coat | a big old house | an old saying | My car's older than yours. | be (as) old as the hills (=be extremely old)

2 NOT YOUNG having lived for a long time: an old man | get/grow old (=become old): The next time Robbie saw Mrs Dawes he thought she had grown very old.

3 the old old people: taking care of the old and the sick

4 AGE be ... old to be a particular age: How old are you? | be 5/10/50 etc years old: Our house is 60 years old. | 5-year-old/10-year-old etc: our 12-year-old son | a six-week-old baby | old enough/too old: I think you're old enough to make your own decisions.

5 old house/job/teacher etc a house, job etc that you had before but do not have now: I saw Phil with one of my old girlfriends. | My old car didn't have air conditioning.

6 he's old enough to be your father/she's old enough to be your mother informal used to say that someone is too old for someone to have a sexual relationship with

7 be old beyond your years to be wiser or more sensible than most people your age

8 be old before your time to behave like someone much older than you, because bad things have happened to you

9 sb is old enough to know better used to say that you think someone should have behaved more sensibly

10 an old friend/enemy etc someone you have known for a long time: Bob's an old friend of mine.

11 an old head on young shoulders a young person who seems to think and behave like an older person

12 FAMILIAR (only before noun) experienced, heard, or seen many times before; familiar: It's good to get back into the old routine. | the old familiar faces | the same old (=often used to say that you are bored with something): We get tired of hearing the same old stuff.

—see also: it's the same old story story (10)

13 old flame someone with whom you used to have a romantic relationship

14 the old country especially AmE the country that you were born in, but that you no longer live in, used especially to mean Europe

15 the old days times in the past: In the old days people used to fetch water from the pump.

16 the good old days/the bad old days an earlier time in your life, or in history, when things seemed better or worse than now: We like to chat about the good old days.

17 of old

a) literary long ago in the past: in days of old

b) if you know someone of old you know them from a long time ago

18 for old times' sake if you do something for old times' sake, you do it to remind yourself of a happy time in the past

19 be/feel/look like your old self to feel or look better again after you have been ill or very unhappy: Glad to see you looking more like your old self again.

20 Old English/Old Icelandic etc an early form of English, Icelandic etc

21 good old/poor old/silly old etc spoken used to talk to or about someone you are fond of: Good old Keith! | You poor old thing!

22 the old ... used to talk about something that you often use or are very familiar with: So I got the old paint brushes out and set to work.

23 you old .../the old ... used to show that you are surprised or amused by what someone has said or done: You told her that? You old liar! | Don't ask him, the old miser.

24 old fool/old cow etc spoken used to talk about someone you do not like: the old bastard | silly old fool

25 a good old also a right old BrE spoken used to talk about something you enjoy: We had a good old talk.

26 any old thing/hat/place etc informal used to say that it does not matter which thing, place etc you choose: Oh, just wear any old thing. | You can't just turn up at any old time, you know.

27 any old how/way informal untidily or carelessly: Put these away properly, don't shove them in any old how.

28 pay/settle an old score to punish someone for something wrong that they did to you in the past

29 of the old school old-fashioned and believing in old ideas and customs: a real English lady of the old school

30 old wives' tale a belief based on old ideas that are now considered to be untrue

31 be an old hand at to have a lot of experience of something: I'm an old hand at this game.

32 the old guard a group of people within an organization or club who do not like changes or new ideas: The old guard will vote against letting women into the club.

33 the Old Bill BrE informal the police

—see also: the old school tie school tie (2) USAGE NOTE: OLD WORD CHOICE: older, elder, elderly, senior citizen, OAP You can use older to describe either people or things. Elder means the same thing but you only use it to talk about people and usually only your close family: My elder/older daughter is at university. | Shane is the elder brother of the two. But you can also say: elder members of the community Older but not elder can be used with than: Shane is older than Mark (NOT elder than). When you are talking about people, elderly (NOT elder) is a polite way of saying old. Compare an old church and an old/elderly lady. Most people however now prefer to be called senior citizens, and this is the most common, polite, and acceptable expression to use. In British English, especially in official notices, you might see OAP, which is short for `old age pensioner'.