Collins English-English Dictionary

old [əυld]

1. 1. adj having lived or existed for a relatively long time

   an old man

   an old tradition

   old wine

   an old house

   an old country

2. 2. adj of or relating to advanced years or a long life

   old age

3. 3. adj (as collective noun; preceded by the)

   the old

4. 4. adj decrepit or senile

5. 5. adj worn with age or use

   old clothes

   an old car

6. 6. adj [postpositive] having lived or existed for a specified period

   a child who is six years old

7. 7. adj (in combination)

   a six-year-old child

8. 8. adj (as noun in combination)

   a six-year-old

9. 9. adj [capital when part of a name or title] earlier or earliest of two or more things with the same name

   the old edition

   the Old Testament

   old Norwich

10. 10. adj [capital when part of a name] designating the form of a language in which the earliest known records are written

    Old English

11. 11. adj [prenominal] familiar through long acquaintance or repetition

    an old friend

    an old excuse

12. 12. adj practised; hardened

    old in cunning

13. 13. adj [prenominal; often preceded by good] cherished; dear: used as a term of affection or familiarity

    good old George

14. 14. adj [Spoken] [with any of several nouns] used as a familiar form of address to a person

    old thing

    old bean

    old stick

    old fellow

15. 15. adj skilled through long experience (esp in the phrase an old hand)

16. 16. adj out-of-date; unfashionable

17. 17. adj remote or distant in origin or time of origin

    an old culture

18. 18. adj [prenominal] former; previous

    my old house was small

19. 19. adj [prenominal] established for a relatively long time

    an old member

20. 20. adj (in combination)

    old-established

21. 21. adj sensible, wise, or mature

    old beyond one's years

22. 22. adj (of a river, valley, or land surface) in the final stage of the cycle of erosion, characterized by flat extensive flood plains and minimum relief - See also youthful mature

23. 23. adj (intensifier) (esp in phrases such as a good old time, any old thing, any old how, etc)

24. 24. adj (of crops) harvested late

25. 25. adj a jocular name for Satan

26. 26. n [Spoken] an earlier or past time (esp in the phrase of old)

    in days of old

27. 27. n [Etymology] Old English eald; related to Old Saxon ald, Old High German, German alt, Latin altus high

28. 28. n [Usage] Many people nowadays prefer to talk about older people rather than old people, and the phrase the old is best avoided altogether