Old but still lit là gì

age

1. of a particular age
   • be… years, months, etc. old The baby was only a few hours old.
   • In those days most people left school when they were only fifteen years old.
   • At thirty years old, he was already earning £40 000 a year.
   • two fourteen-year-old boys
   • a class for five-year-olds (= children who are five)
   • I didn't think she was old enough for the responsibility.
   • He's not too old to play Romeo.
   • How old is this building?
   • He's the oldest player in the team.
   • She's much older than me.
   • My two older sisters and I shared a bedroom.

   Extra Examples

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   • good old/poor old
   • He's old enough by now to manage his own affairs.
   • You are as old as you feel.

   Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs

   • be
   • feel
   • look
   • …
   adverb
   • enough
   phrases
   • six months, ten years, etc. old
   See full entry

not young

2. having lived for a long time; no longer young
   • to get/grow old
   • The old man lay propped up on cushions.
   • a little old lady
   • She was a woman grown old before her time (= who looked older than she was).
   • He was beginning to look old.
   • Tom was the last surviving member of the older generation of the family.

   Synonyms oldold

   • elderly
   • aged
   • long-lived
   • mature
   These words all describe somebody/​something that has lived for a long time or that usually lives for a long time.
   • old having lived for a long time; no longer young:
     • She’s getting old—she’s 75 next year.
   • elderly (rather formal) used as a polite word for ‘old’:
     • She is very busy caring for two elderly relatives.
   • aged (formal) very old:
     • Having aged relatives to stay in your house can be quite stressful.
   • long-lived having a long life; lasting for a long time:
     • Everyone in my family is exceptionally long-lived.
   • mature used as a polite or humorous way of saying that somebody is no longer young:
     • clothes for the mature woman
   Patterns
   • a(n) old/​elderly/​aged/​long-lived/​mature man/​woman
   • a(n) old/​elderly/​aged/​mature gentleman/​lady/​couple
   opposite young

   Extra Examples

   • We were fairly old when we bought our first house.
   • The way the young people rushed about made her feel old.
   • She's getting old—she's 75 next year.
   • We're all getting older.
   Topics Life stagesa1

   Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs

   • be
   • feel
   • look
   • …
   adverb
   • extremely
   • fairly
   • very
   • …
   See full entry

3. the old

   noun [plural] old people Many people prefer to say old people, older people or (especially in the US) seniors if they need to refer to these people as a group.
   • The old feel the cold more than the young.

not new

4. having existed or been used for a long time
   • old habits
   • He always gives the same old excuses.
   • This carpet's getting pretty old now.
   • a beautiful old farmhouse
   opposite new

   Which Word? older / elderolder / elder

   • The usual comparative and superlative forms of old are older and oldest:
     • My brother is older than me.
     • The palace is the oldest building in the city.
     In British English you can also use elder and eldest when comparing the ages of people, especially members of the same family, although these words are not common in speech now. As adjectives they are only used before a noun and you cannot say ‘elder than’:
     • my older/​elder sister
     • the elder/​older of their two children
     • I’m the eldest/​oldest in the family.

   Extra Examples

   • It's a very old tradition.
   • It's one of the oldest remaining parts of the church.
   • It's the world's oldest surviving ship.
   • These are some of the oldest trees in the world.

   Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs

   • be
   adverb
   • extremely
   • fairly
   • very
   • …
   phrases
   • oldest known
   • oldest remaining
   • oldest surviving
   • …
   See full entry

5. [only before noun] former; belonging to past times or a past time in your life
   • Things were different in the old days.
   • I went back to visit my old school.
   • Old and Middle English
   • People are still clinging to the old ways of thinking.
6. [only before noun] used to refer to something that has been replaced by something else
   • We had more room in our old house.
   • Mum and Dad bought us a fridge and gave us their old telly.
   opposite new
7. [only before noun] known for a long time
   • She's an old friend of mine (= I have known her for a long time).
   • We're old rivals.
   • It's always the same old faces.
   • The album includes both new titles and old favourites.
   compare recent

good old/poor old

8. [only before noun] (informal) used to show kind feelings or a lack of respect
   • Good old Dad!
   • You poor old thing!
   • I hate her, the silly old cow!

   Extra Examples

   • It's a funny old world.
   • Why drink plain old water when you can have something better?
   • They were having the same boring old conversation about school.
   • As my dear old Grandma used to say…

   Oxford Collocations Dictionaryphrases

   • boring old
   • silly old
   • dear old
   • …
   See full entry

Word OriginOld English ald, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch oud and German alt, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘adult’, shared by Latin alere ‘nourish’.

Idioms

1. (informal) any item of the type mentioned (used when it is not important which particular item is chosen)
   • Any old room would have done.

1. (informal) in a careless or untidy way
   • The books were piled up all over the floor any old how.

1. very old; ancient

   More Like This Similes in idiomsSimiles in idioms

   • (as) bald as a coot
   • (as) blind as a bat
   • (as) bright as a button
   • (as) bold as brass
   • as busy as a bee
   • as clean as a whistle
   • (as) dead as a/​the dodo
   • (as) deaf as a post
   • (as) dull as ditchwater
   • (as) fit as a fiddle
   • as flat as a pancake
   • (as) good as gold
   • (as) mad as a hatter/​a March hare
   • (as) miserable/​ugly as sin
   • as old as the hills
   • (as) pleased/​proud as Punch
   • as pretty as a picture
   • (as) regular as clockwork
   • (as) quick as a flash
   • (as) safe as houses
   • (as) sound as a bell
   • (as) steady as a rock
   • (as) thick as two short planks
   • (as) tough as old boots

be up to your (old) tricks

1. (informal, disapproving) to be behaving in the same bad way as before
   • He had soon spent all the money and was up to his old tricks.

1. (informal) a person who is very similar to their mother or father in the way that they look or behave

1. if you do something for old times’ sake, you do it because it is connected with something good that happened to you in the past

give somebody the (old) heave-ho

1. (informal) to dismiss somebody from their job; to end a relationship with somebody

1. an earlier period of time in your life or in history that is seen as better/worse than the present
   • That was in the bad old days of rampant inflation.

a/the grand old age (of…)

1. a great age
   • She finally learned to drive at the grand old age of 70.

a/the grand old man (of something)

1. a man who is respected in a particular profession that he has been involved in for a long time
   • James Lovelock, the grand old man of environmental science

   CultureGrand Old Man was a title originally used to refer to William Gladstone, who spent many years in British politics in 19th century and was prime minister four times.

1. (old-fashioned, informal) to enjoy yourself very much

1. (British English, informal) used to give an amount, a measurement, etc. using older or more traditional units that may be more familiar to some people
   • The fish measured 29 centimetres (that's a foot in old money).

1. (British English, informal) money that is earned very easily, for something that needs little effort
   • The job only took about an hour—it was money for old rope.

(there’s) no fool like an old fool

1. (saying) an older person who behaves in a stupid way is worse than a younger person who does the same thing, because experience should have taught him or her not to do it

1. (formal or literary) in or since past times
   • in days of old
   • We know him of old (= we have known him for a long time).

1. (old-fashioned, British English, informal) used by older men of the middle and upper classes as a friendly way of addressing another man

old enough to be somebody’s father/mother

1. (disapproving) very much older than somebody (especially used to suggest that a romantic or sexual relationship between the two people is not appropriate)

old enough to know better

1. old enough to behave in a more sensible way than you actually did

(have) an old head on young shoulders

1. used to describe a young person who acts in a more sensible way than you would expect for a person of their age

1. what usually happens
   • It's the same old story of a badly managed project with inadequate funding.

1. (disapproving) an old idea or belief that people now know is not correct

1. an old-fashioned person who likes to do things as they were done in the past see also old school

1. an age that is considered to be very old
   • He lived to the ripe old age of 91.

settle a score/accounts (with somebody) | settle an old score

1. to hurt or punish somebody who has harmed or cheated you in the past
   • ‘Who would do such a thing?’ ‘Maybe someone with an old score to settle.’
   • An embittered Charlotte is determined to settle accounts with Elizabeth.

(you can’t) teach an old dog new tricks

1. (saying) (you cannot) successfully make people change their ideas, methods of work, etc., when they have had them for a long time

(as) tough as old boots | (as) tough as nails (informal)

1. very strong and able to deal successfully with difficult conditions or situations
   • She’s almost 90 but she’s still as tough as old boots.
   Similes in idioms

See old in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee old in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Check pronunciation: old