age

[ eyj ]

/ eɪdʒ /

noun

the length of time during which a being or thing has existed; length of life or existence to the time spoken of or referred to: trees of unknown age; His age is 20 years.

a period of human life, measured by years from birth, usually marked by a certain stage or degree of mental or physical development and involving legal responsibility and capacity: the age of discretion; the age of consent; The state raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 years.

the particular period of life at which a person becomes naturally or conventionally qualified or disqualified for anything: He was over age for military duty.

one of the periods or stages of human life: a person of middle age.

advanced years; old age: His eyes were dim with age.

a particular period of history, as distinguished from others; a historical epoch: the age of Pericles; the Stone Age; the age of electronic communications.

the period of history contemporary with the span of an individual's life: He was the most famous architect of the age.

a generation or a series of generations: ages yet unborn.

a great length of time: I haven't seen you for an age. He's been gone for ages.

the average life expectancy of an individual or of the individuals of a class or species: The age of a horse is from 25 to 30 years.

Psychology. the level of mental, emotional, or educational development of a person, especially a child, as determined by various tests and based on a comparison of the individual's score with the average score for persons of the same chronological age.

Geology.

a period of the history of the earth distinguished by some special feature: the Ice Age.
a unit of geological time, shorter than an epoch, during which the rocks comprising a stage were formed.

any of the successive periods in human history divided, according to Hesiod, into the golden, silver, bronze, heroic, and iron ages.

Cards.

Poker. the first player at the dealer's left.Compare edge(def 10a).
eldest hand.

verb (used without object), aged, ag·ing or age·ing.

to grow old: He is aging rapidly.

to mature, as wine, cheese, or wood: a heavy port that ages slowly.

verb (used with object), aged, ag·ing or age·ing.

to make old; cause to grow or seem old: Fear aged him overnight.

to bring to maturity or a state fit for use: to age wine.

to store (a permanent magnet, a capacitor, or other similar device) so that its electrical or magnetic characteristics become constant.

to expose (a dye or dyed cloth) to steam or humid air in order to fix the dye.

to stabilize the electrical properties of (a device) by passing current through it.

Idioms for age

of age, Law.

being any of several ages, usually 21 or 18, at which certain legal rights, as voting or marriage, are acquired.
being old enough for full legal rights and responsibilities.

Origin of age

1225–75; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French aage, eage, equivalent to aé (< Latin aetātem accusative of ae(vi)tās age; aev(um) time, lifetime + -itās -ity) + -age -age; (v.) Middle English agen, derivative of the noun

SYNONYMS FOR age

16 ripen, mellow, develop.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR age ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for age

6. Age, epoch, era, period all refer to an extent of time. Age usually implies a considerable extent of time, especially one associated with a dominant personality, influence, characteristic, or institution: the age of chivalry. Epoch and era are often used interchangeably to refer to an extent of time characterized by changed conditions and new undertakings: an era ( or epoch ) of invention. epoch sometimes refers especially to the beginning of an era: the steam engine—an epoch in technology. A period may be long or short, but usually has a marked condition or feature: the glacial period; a period of expansion.

OTHER WORDS FROM age

in·ter·age, adjective pre·age, verb, pre·aged, pre·ag·ing. sub·age, noun un·ag·ing, adjective

Words nearby age

agaze, agaña, agba, agc, agcy., age, age allowance, age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / her infinite variety, age group, age hardening, age of anxiety

Definition for age (2 of 4)

-age

a suffix typically forming mass or abstract nouns from various parts of speech, occurring originally in loanwords from French (voyage; courage) and productive in English with the meanings “aggregate” (coinage; peerage; trackage), “process” (coverage; breakage), “the outcome of” as either “the fact of” or “the physical effect or remains of” (seepage; wreckage; spoilage), “place of living or business” (parsonage; brokerage), “social standing or relationship” (bondage; marriage; patronage), and “quantity, measure, or charge” (footage; shortage; tonnage; towage).

Origin of -age

Middle English < Old French < Latin -āticum, neuter of -āticus adj. suffix; an extension of Latin -āta -ate¹, whose range of senses it reflects closely

Definition for age (3 of 4)

Ag.E.

Agricultural Engineer.

Definition for age (4 of 4)

A.G.E.

Associate in General Education.

Example sentences from the Web for age

In straight relationships with an age gap, words like ‘gold-digger’ and ‘trophy wife’ get thrown around.

Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic |Samantha Allen |January 9, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Doctors have long wrestled with the age of consent when it comes to mature adolescents.

Should Teens Have The Right To Die? |Brandy Zadrozny |January 8, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
You have to acknowledge your age and position in life, for me quite a lot of those emotionally fueled songs were hormone songs.

Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore |James Joiner |January 7, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
The copilot on Flight 8501 was Remi Emmanuel Piesel, 46, who despite his age had just 2,275 hours of flying experience.

Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501 |Clive Irving |January 6, 2015 |DAILY BEAST

Yung Lean was born Jonatan Leandoer Håstad in Belarus, before moving to Sweden at the age of 3.

The Cult of Yung Lean: ‘I’m Building An Anarchistic Society From the Ground Up’ |Marlow Stern |January 4, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
At that age and in its then condition a strong ruler--native if possible, if not, foreign--was by far the best hope for Ireland.

The Story Of Ireland |Emily Lawless
(This was the age after the all devouring conflagration on earth).

The Yoga-Vasishtha Maharamayana of Valmiki, vol. 3 (of 4) part 2 (of 2) |Valmiki
Well, of course the saying is foolish, and sounds doubly ridiculous in this age when people believe in neither God nor devil.

The Sorrows of Satan |Marie Corelli
He is near her own age, and he is a handsome fellow, full of life and spirit.

Rodman the Keeper |Constance Fenimore Woolson
He began to paint very early in life, and at the age of seventeen he took a studio of his own.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 |Various

British Dictionary definitions for age (1 of 2)

age

/ (eɪdʒ) /

noun

the period of time that a person, animal, or plant has lived or is expected to live the age of a tree; what age was he when he died?; the age of a horse is up to thirty years

the period of existence of an object, material, group, etc the age of this table is 200 years

a period or state of human lifehe should know better at his age; she had got beyond the giggly age
(as modifier)age group

the latter part of life

a period of history marked by some feature or characteristic; era
(capital when part of a name)the Middle Ages; the Space Age

generation the Edwardian age

geology palaeontol

a period of the earth's history distinguished by special characteristicsthe age of reptiles
the period during which a stage of rock strata is formed; a subdivision of an epoch

myth any of the successive periods in the legendary history of man, which were, according to Hesiod, the golden, silver, bronze, heroic, and iron ages

(often plural) informal a relatively long time she was an age washing her hair; I've been waiting ages

psychol the level in years that a person has reached in any area of development, such as mental or emotional, compared with the normal level for his chronological age See also achievement age, mental age

age before beauty (often said humorously when yielding precedence) older people take precedence over younger people

of age adult and legally responsible for one's actions (usually at 18 or, formerly, 21 years)

verb ages, ageing, aging or aged

to grow or make old or apparently old; become or cause to become old or aged

to begin to seem older to have aged a lot in the past year

brewing to mature or cause to mature

Word Origin for age

C13: via Old French from Vulgar Latin aetatīcum (unattested), from Latin aetās, ultimately from aevum lifetime; compare aeon

British Dictionary definitions for age (2 of 2)

-age

suffix forming nouns

indicating a collection, set, or group acreage; baggage

indicating a process or action or the result of an action haulage; passage; breakage

indicating a state, condition, or relationship bondage; parentage

indicating a house or place orphanage

indicating a charge or fee postage

indicating a rate dosage; mileage

Word Origin for -age

from Old French, from Late Latin -āticum, noun suffix, neuter of -āticus, adjectival suffix, from -ātus -ate 1 + -icus -ic

Medical definitions for age

age

[ āj ]

n.

The length of time that one has existed; duration of life.

v.

To become old.

To manifest traits associated with old age.

Idioms and Phrases with age

age

see act one's age; coon's age; golden age; in this day and age; of age; ripe old age; under age.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

age

noun

verb (used without object), aged, ag·ing or age·ing.

verb (used with object), aged, ag·ing or age·ing.

Idioms for age

Origin of age

SYNONYMS FOR age

synonym study for age

OTHER WORDS FROM age

Words nearby age

Definition for age (2 of 4)

Origin of -age

Definition for age (3 of 4)

Definition for age (4 of 4)

Example sentences from the Web for age

British Dictionary definitions for age (1 of 2)

noun

verb ages, ageing, aging or aged

Word Origin for age

British Dictionary definitions for age (2 of 2)

suffix forming nouns

Word Origin for -age

Medical definitions for age

n.

v.

Idioms and Phrases with age

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

age

noun

verb (used without object), aged, ag·ing or age·ing.

verb (used with object), aged, ag·ing or age·ing.

Idioms for age

Origin of age

SYNONYMS FOR age

synonym study for age

OTHER WORDS FROM age

Words nearby age

Definition for age (2 of 4)

Origin of -age

Definition for age (3 of 4)

Definition for age (4 of 4)

Words related to age

Example sentences from the Web for age

British Dictionary definitions for age (1 of 2)

noun

verb ages, ageing, aging or aged

Word Origin for age

British Dictionary definitions for age (2 of 2)

suffix forming nouns

Word Origin for -age

Medical definitions for age

n.

v.

Idioms and Phrases with age