age-old

age-old — adjective

1. describes a tradition, problem, question, or feeling that has been around for ma

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a tradition, problem, question, or feeling that has been around for many generations and is still part of life today.

Example

In Tainan, families still follow the age-old custom of cleaning ancestors' graves in April.

attributive: age-old + custom (cultural tradition)

Scientists are trying to answer the age-old question of why humans need to dream.

collocation: age-old question

Common collocations
  • age-old tradition
  • age-old question
  • age-old problem
  • age-old custom
  • age-old rivalry
  • age-old dilemma
  • age-old wisdom
Synonyms
  • ancient

    stronger; suggests something thousands of years old; works for objects too

  • time-honoured

    positive tone; emphasises that something is respected because it has lasted

  • long-standing

    neutral; focuses on duration rather than cultural depth

Antonyms
  • modern

    belonging to the present time

  • new

    recently created or introduced

Grammar Patterns

age-old + noun

Usage Note

Almost always used before a noun (attributive). Strongly prefers abstract nouns such as tradition, custom, question, problem, dilemma, rivalry, wisdom — rarely modifies concrete physical objects. Avoid using it to mean simply 'old' for a person or thing whose age you can measure in years.

Common Mistakes

My grandfather is age-old.
My grandfather is very old.
age-old describes traditions or ideas, not a person's age.
I bought an age-old chair at the market.
I bought an antique chair at the market.
for old physical objects, use 'antique' or 'old'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe things that have lasted a long time, but they fit different scenes. 'Age-old' is the everyday choice for traditions, questions, or human problems that span many generations — 'an age-old custom', 'the age-old question of free will'. 'Ancient' reaches further back and works for physical things too, like 'ancient ruins' or 'an ancient civilisation'. 'Time-honoured' adds warm respect: a 'time-honoured recipe' is one people still trust because it has lasted. 'Long-standing' is the most neutral and the most office-friendly — use it for agreements, friendships, or disputes ('a long-standing client', 'a long-standing dispute') where you only want to flag duration, not cultural weight.

age-old ↗ancient ↗time-honouredlong-standing ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • the age-old question of
  • an age-old tradition of
  • an age-old problem

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

A compound formed in English in the early 1800s by joining the noun 'age' (a long period of time) with the adjective 'old'. The hyphen turned the two words into a single descriptive label meaning 'old as the ages themselves'. The pattern echoes other English compounds like 'lifelong' and 'centuries-old'.