age

1 of 3

noun

1
a
: the time of life at which some particular qualification, power, or capacity arises or rests
the voting age is 18
specifically : majority
b
: one of the stages of life
c
: the length of an existence extending from the beginning to any given time
a boy 10 years of age
d
e
: an advanced stage of life
2
: a period of time dominated by a central figure or prominent feature
the age of Pericles
: such as
a
: a period in history or human progress
the age of reptiles
the age of exploration
b
: a cultural period marked by the prominence of a particular item
entering the atomic age
c
: a division of geologic time that is usually shorter than an epoch
3
a
: the period contemporary with a person's lifetime or with his or her active life
b
: a long time
usually used in plural
haven't seen him in ages
4
: an individual's development measured in terms of the years requisite for like development of an average individual

age

2 of 3

verb

aged; aging or ageing

intransitive verb

1
: to become old : show the effects or the characteristics of increasing age
2
: to acquire a desirable quality (such as mellowness or ripeness) by standing undisturbed for some time
letting cheese age

transitive verb

1
: to cause to become old
2
: to bring to a state fit for use or to maturity

-age

3 of 3

noun suffix

1
: aggregate : collection
trackage
2
a
: action : process
haulage
b
: cumulative result of
breakage
c
: rate of
dosage
3
: house or place of
orphanage
4
: state : rank
peonage
5
: charge
postage
Choose the Right Synonym for age

period, epoch, era, age mean a division of time.

period may designate an extent of time of any length.

periods of economic prosperity

epoch applies to a period begun or set off by some significant or striking quality, change, or series of events.

the steam engine marked a new epoch in industry

era suggests a period of history marked by a new or distinct order of things.

the era of global communications

age is used frequently of a fairly definite period dominated by a prominent figure or feature.

the age of Samuel Johnson

Examples of age in a Sentence

Noun Some people are reluctant to reveal their ages. She died tragically at a young age. The treatment depends on the sex and age of the patient. She died at the ripe old age of 90. The movie appeals to people of all ages. Their son needs to spend more time with children his own age. a group of children ranging in age from 8 to 11 The program is for people over age 50. groups of people classified by race and age Verb As he aged he grew more and more bitter. You haven't aged a day since I saw you last! His troubles have aged him. Exposure to the sun has aged her skin. The wine ages in oak barrels. The wine is aged in oak barrels.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Join Meghan every other Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET, for a live chat to answer questions from parents trying to raise kids of any age. Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 Children this age do well with routine and knowing the limits. Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 7 Mar. 2024 How many brides have been offered to the dragon through the ages? Peter Debruge, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024 Haley, 52, later called for competency tests for politicians over the age of 75 -- a knock on both Trump, who is 77, and Biden, who is 81. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 7 Mar. 2024 Please note, attendees under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult, ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for all festival goers. Kansas City Star, 7 Mar. 2024 Grown-up kids of a certain age might remember a tooth-rotting confection called rock candy — word play on rock canyon. Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024 Both the 81-year-old Biden and the 77-year-old Trump continue to dominate their parties despite facing questions about age and neither having broad popularity across the general electorate. Will Weissert, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024 Now, almost six years after Betty passed away at age 86, her longtime dwelling has popped up on the market for the first time in over five decades, asking a substantial $88 million. Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 23 Feb. 2024
Verb
Luengo says mismanagement and aging infrastructure play a huge role in the current crisis, noting that the city loses 40% of its water supply due to leaks in the pipes. Emily Green, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024 The soaring demand is touching off a scramble to try to squeeze more juice out of an aging power grid while pushing commercial customers to go to extraordinary lengths to lock down energy sources, such as building their own power plants. Evan Halper, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 Labor force participation rates have been on a decline — largely due to demographic changes and aging Baby Boomers — since hitting a high of 67.3% in early 2000, and had fallen to 63.3% in the month before the onset of the pandemic. Alicia Wallace, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024 Mexico City is facing a dire water crisis as climate change continues to bring severe droughts and high temperatures that are causing extra strain on the city's aging infrastructure. USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2024 With the launch of the M3 MacBook Air, Apple is finally phasing out the aging M1 model. Quentyn Kennemer, The Verge, 6 Mar. 2024 Tastes have aged, and the user experience is no longer one of giddy revelation—at one point, the only reaction the app seemed to generate among new users—but one of odd comfort. Jason Parham, WIRED, 5 Mar. 2024 The government wants to increase South Korea’s medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 starting next year, from the current 3,058, to better deal with the country’s rapidly aging population. Hyung-Jin Kim, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 With a steep $1.4 million budget (roughly $25 million today), Cimarron has not aged well, at least in terms of its manifest-destiny politics, casual theft of Native American land and Black servant characters played for comic relief. Chris Nashawaty, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'age.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French aage, age (earlier Old French edage, eage), from eé, aé "age, lifetime" (going back to Latin aetāt-, aetās, contraction of earlier aevitās, from aevum "time, lifetime" + -itāt-, -itās -ity) + -age -age — more at aye entry 3

Verb

Middle English agen, derivative of age age entry 1

Noun suffix

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin -āticum (as in viāticum "provision for a journey"), neuter of -āticus, adjective suffix of appurtenance, perhaps originally from -āt- (from past participles of first conjugation verbs, as in vēnāticus "used for hunting," from vēnātus, past participle of vēnārī "to hunt") + -icus -ic entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of age was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near age

Cite this Entry

“Age.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/age. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

age

1 of 3 noun
1
a
: the time of life when a person attains some right or capacity
the voting age is 18
especially : majority sense 1
come of age
b
: the time from birth to a specified date
a child six years of age
c
: normal lifetime
d
: the later part of life
youth and age
2
: a period of time associated with a particular person or thing
machine age
Age of Discovery
3
: a long period of time
did it ages ago

age

2 of 3 verb
aged; aging or ageing
1
: to become or cause to become old or old in appearance
his troubles aged him
2
: to become or cause to become mellow or mature : ripen
letting cheese age

-age

3 of 3 noun suffix
ij
1
: total amount : collection
mileage
2
a
: action : process
coverage
b
: result of
breakage
c
: rate of
dosage
3
: house or place of
orphanage
4
: state : status
bondage
5
: fee : charge
postage
Etymology

Noun suffix

Middle English -age "collection," from early French -age (same meaning), from Latin -aticum, suffix of mass and abstract nouns

Medical Definition

age

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: the part of life from birth to a given time
a child 10 years of age
b
: the time or part of life at which some particular event, qualification, or capacity arises, occurs, or is lost
of reproductive age
age of onset
see middle age
c
: an advanced stage of life
2
: an individual's development measured in terms of the years requisite for like development of an average individual
a child of 7 with a mental age of 10
see binet age, mental age

age

2 of 2 verb
aged; aging or ageing

intransitive verb

: to become old : show the effects or the characteristics of increasing age

transitive verb

: to cause to become old

Legal Definition

age

noun
: the time of life at which some particular qualification, power, or capacity arises
the voting age is 18
see also legal age, majority

More from Merriam-Webster on age

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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