age

age¹ W1S1 [eıdʒ] n

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1¦(how old)¦

2¦(legal age)¦

3¦(period of life)¦

4¦(being old)¦

5¦(period of history)¦

6 ages

7 come of age

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: aage, from Vulgar Latin aetaticum, from Latin aetas, from aevum 'lifetime, age']

1.) ¦(HOW OLD)¦ [U and C]

the number of years someone has lived or something has existed

▪ Francis is the same age as me.

▪ Experts disagree over the age of the drawings.

▪ Dad retired at the age of 56.

at age 5/18 etc

▪ In Britain, schooling starts at age 5.

4/15 etc years of age

(=4, 15 etc years old)

▪ She was just over 16 years of age.

at my/your etc age

(=when you are as old as me etc)

▪ At my age, it's quite difficult getting up stairs.

at/from an early age

(=at or from the time when someone is very young)

▪ girls who become mothers at an early age

over/under the age of 5/18 etc

▪ people over the age of 65

of his/her etc own age

(=of the same age as him, her etc)

▪ Kids need friends of their own age to play with.

for his/her etc age

(=compared with other people of the same age)

▪ She's tall for her age, isn't she?

act your age

(=behave in a way that is suitable for how old you are)

▪ It's time you started acting your age, Jeff.

▪ My mother reached the age of 90 (=lived until she was 90) .

▪ children ranging in age from 6 to 17

2.) ¦(LEGAL AGE)¦[U]

the age when you are legally old enough to do something

▪ What's the minimum age for getting a driver's license?

▪ You're not allowed to buy alcohol. You're under age (=too young by law) .

retirement/pension age

(=when you are old enough to stop working or receive a pension)

▪ the normal retirement age of 65

3.) ¦(PERIOD OF LIFE)¦ [U and C]

one of the particular periods of someone's life

→↑old age, middle age ↑middle age, teenage ↑teenage

▪ women of childbearing age

a difficult/awkward age

▪ The early teens are often a difficult age.

4.) ¦(BEING OLD)¦[U]

the state of being old

with age

▪ High blood pressure increases with age.

▪ Some of the furniture was showing signs of age .

5.) ¦(PERIOD OF HISTORY)¦ [C usually singular]

a particular period of history

▪ We are living in the age of technology.

▪ Molecular biology is pushing medicine into a new age .

the computer/industrial/nuclear etc age

→in this day and age at ↑day, ↑Bronze Age, ↑Iron Age, ↑Middle Ages, ↑Stone Age

6.) ages [plural] also an age

informal especially BrE a long time

▪ Simon! I haven't seen you for ages .

▪ That recipe takes ages .

it's ages since/before/until etc sth

▪ It's ages since we've played that game.

7.) come of age

a) to reach the age when you are legally considered to be a responsible adult

b) if something comes of age, it reaches a stage of development at which people accept it as being important, valuable etc

▪ During this period the movies really came of age as an art form.

→↑New Age¹ , ↑new age²

age ²

age² v present participle aging or ageing

1.) [I and T]

to start looking older or to make someone or something look older

▪ He was worried to see how much she'd aged.

▪ The experience had aged him in advance of his years.

2.) [I]

to become older

▪ The buildings are ageing, and some are unsafe.

3.) [I and T]

to improve and develop in taste over a period of time, or to allow food or alcohol to do this

▪ Cheddar cheese ages well.

▪ The whisky is aged for at least ten years.