Skip navigation.

age - What does it mean?

Definition of 'age'

English

Noun

(en-noun)
  • The whole duration of a being, whether animal, vegetable, or other kind; lifetime.
  • (uncountable) That part of the duration of a being or a thing which is between its beginning and any given time; specifically the size of that part.
  • (uncountable) The latter part of life; an advanced period of life, eld; seniority; state of being old.
  • (countable) One of the stages of life; as, the age of infancy, of youth, etc.
  • * {{quote-magazine|date=2013-07-19|author=(Peter Wilby)
  • |volume=189|issue=6|page=30|magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) |title= Finland spreads word on schools |passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age' seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the ' age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.}}
  • (uncountable) Mature age; especially, the time of life at which one attains full personal rights and capacities.
  • (countable) The time of life at which some particular power or capacity is understood to become vested.
  • (countable) A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
  • * {{quote-magazine|date=2013-08-03|volume=408|issue=8847|magazine=(The Economist)
  • |title= Yesterday’s fuel |passage=The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices). It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber.}}
  • (countable) A great period in the history of the Earth.
  • (countable) A century; the period of one hundred years.
  • The people who live at a particular period.
  • (countable) A generation.
  • (countable|hyperbole) A long time.
  • Synonyms

    * (latter part of life) dotage, old age, eld

    Derived terms

    * act one's age * age before beauty * aged * ageism * age discrimination * age distribution * age group * ageist * ageless * age limit * agelong * Age of Aquarius * age of consent * Age of Enlightenment * age of majority * Age of Reason * age-old * age rating * age-reversal (rel-mid3) * ages * age spot * ageing, aging * all ages * atomic age/Atomic Age * bone age * Bronze Age * come of age/coming of age * coon's age * dark age/Dark Ages * day and age/in this day and age * drinking age * emotional age * for the ages * full age * golden age * heroic age * ice age * Industrial Age (rel-mid3) * Iron Age * jazz age * legal age * mental age * Middle Ages * New Age * new-age * nuclear age * of age * old-age * prehistoric age * school age * silver age * space age/space-age * Stone Age * teenage, teenager * under age/underage * voting age * youth-on-age (rel-bottom)

    Verb

  • To cause to grow old; to impart the characteristics of age to.
  • (figuratively) To postpone an action that would extinguish something, as a debt.
  • (accounting) To categorize by age.
  • To grow aged; to become old; to show marks of age.
  • * Holland
  • They live one hundred and thirty years, and never age for all that.
  • * Landor
  • I am aging ; that is, I have a whitish, or rather a light-coloured, hair here and there.
  • * {{quote-magazine|year=2013|month=July-August|author= Stephen P. Lownie], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/david-m-pelz David M. Pelz
  • |title= Stents to Prevent Stroke|magazine=(American Scientist) |passage=As we age , the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels. The reason plaque forms isn’t entirely known, but it seems to be related to high levels of cholesterol inducing an inflammatory response, which can also attract and trap more cellular debris over time.}}

    See also

    * *

    Statistics

    *

    Similar to 'age'

    ace, ache, axe, ague, akee, ake, asse, aske, aze, aace, agee, ajee