age Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun how long something has existed
    • it was replaced because of its age
  2. noun an era of history having some distinctive feature
    historic period.
    • we live in a litigious age
  3. noun a time of life (usually defined in years) at which some particular qualification or power arises
    eld.
    • she was now of school age
    • tall for his eld
  4. noun a prolonged period of time
    years; long time.
    • we've known each other for ages
    • I haven't been there for years and years
  5. noun a late time of life
    geezerhood; old age; eld; years.
    • old age is not for sissies
    • he's showing his years
    • age hasn't slowed him down at all
    • a beard white with eld
    • on the brink of geezerhood
  6. verb begin to seem older; get older
    • The death of his wife caused him to age fast
  7. verb grow old or older
    maturate; senesce; mature; get on.
    • She aged gracefully
    • we age every day--what a depressing thought!
    • Young men senesce
  8. verb make older
    • The death of his child aged him tremendously

WordNet

Age noun
Etymology
OF. aage, eage, F. âge, fr. L. aetas through a supposed LL. aetaticum. L. aetas is contracted fr. aevitas, fr. aevum lifetime, age; akin to E. aye ever. Cf. Each.
Definitions
  1. The whole duration of a being, whether animal, vegetable, or other kind; lifetime.
    Mine age is as nothing before thee. Ps. xxxix. 5.
  2. That part of the duration of a being or a thing which is between its beginning and any given time; as, what is the present age of a man, or of the earth?
  3. The latter part of life; an advanced period of life; seniority; state of being old.
    Nor wrong mine age with this indignity. Shak.
  4. One of the stages of life; as, the age of infancy, of youth, etc. Shak.
  5. Mature age; especially, the time of life at which one attains full personal rights and capacities; as, to come of age; he (or she) is of age. Abbott. In the United States, both males and females are of age when twenty-one years old.
  6. The time of life at which some particular power or capacity is understood to become vested; as, the age of consent; the age of discretion. Abbott.
  7. A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others; as, the golden age, the age of Pericles. "The spirit of the age." Prescott.
    Truth, in some age or other, will find her witness. Milton.
    See Augustan, Brazen, Golden, Heroic, Middle.
  8. A great period in the history of the Earth. The geologic ages are as follows: 1. The Archæan, including the time when was no life and the time of the earliest and simplest forms of life. 2. The age of Invertebrates, or the Silurian, when the life on the globe consisted distinctively of invertebrates. 3. The age of Fishes, or the Devonian, when fishes were the dominant race. 4. The age of Coal Plants, or Acrogens, or the Carboniferous age. 5. The Mesozoic or Secondary age, or age of Reptiles, when reptiles prevailed in great numbers and of vast size. 6. The Tertiary age, or age of Mammals, when the mammalia, or quadrupeds, abounded, and were the dominant race. 7. The Quaternary age, or age of Man, or the modern era. Dana.
  9. A century; the period of one hundred years.
    Fleury . . . apologizes for these five ages. Hallam.
  10. The people who live at a particular period; hence, a generation. "Ages yet unborn." Pope.
    The way which the age follows. J. H. Newman.
    Lo! where the stage, the poor, degraded stage, Holds its warped mirror to a gaping age. C. Sprague.
  11. A long time. Colloq. "He made minutes an age." Tennyson. ✍ Age is used to form the first part of many compounds; as, agelasting, age-adorning, age-worn, age-enfeebled, agelong. Syn. -- Time; period; generation; date; era; epoch.
Age intransitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Aged present participle & verbal noun Aging
Definitions
  1. To grow aged; to become old; to show marks of age; as, he grew fat as he aged.
    They live one hundred and thirty years, and never age for all that. Holland.
    I am aging; that is, I have a whitish, or rather a light-colored, hair here and there. Landor.
Age transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To cause to grow old; to impart the characteristics of age to; as, grief ages us.

Webster 1913