Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: LAW

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

age

1 noun
     
age1 S1 W1
1

how old

[uncountable and countable] 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

[uncountable]SCL 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

[uncountable and countable] one of the particular periods of someone's life [↪ old age, middle age, teenage]:
women of childbearing age
a difficult/awkward age
The early teens are often a difficult age.
4

being old

[uncountable] the state of being old
High blood pressure increases with age.
Some of the furniture was showing signs of age.
5

period of history

[countable usually singular]SH a particular period of history:
We are living in the age of technology.
Molecular biology is pushing medicine into a new age.

➔ in this day and age

at day (6), Bronze Age, Iron Age, Middle Ages, Stone Age
6

ages

[plural] also an age informal especially British English a long time:
Simon! I haven't seen you for ages.
That recipe takes ages.
it's ages since/before/until etc something
It's ages since we've played that game.
7

come of age

a) SCLSSY 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.
Definition of age from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic LAW
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