vintage
vintage — adjective
1. made in an earlier time and having features that represent the style of that per
made in an earlier time and having features that represent the style of that period — used for objects such as cars, furniture, or posters
Bao bought a vintage sofa from the 1960s at the weekend market.
vintage + noun for old objects
The museum displayed a collection of vintage posters from old Tokyo theatres.
Aylin's grandfather still drives a vintage car that he bought in 1975.
collocation: vintage car
The Watanabe family filled their living room with vintage furniture from the 1950s.
collocation: vintage furniture
Yael decorated her kitchen with vintage kitchen tools from the 1950s.
- vintage car
- vintage furniture
- vintage poster
- vintage clothing
- vintage design
Grammar Patterns
vintage + noun (attributive)
Usage Note
Almost always used before a noun. The object is typically 20 to 100 years old and shows the design character of its era.
Common Mistakes
2. describing wearable fashion items such as clothes, jewellery, and handbags that
describing wearable fashion items such as clothes, jewellery, and handbags that are valued for being stylish examples of past fashion rather than for being simply old
Élise found a beautiful vintage dress at a thrift shop near her apartment.
collocation: vintage dress
Nikhil wore his grandfather's vintage Omega watch to the wedding reception.
collocation: vintage watch
The shop sells vintage jewellery from the 1920s, including old brooches and rings.
Amelia wore a vintage silk scarf that had belonged to her grandmother.
vintage + noun for inherited fashion items
Zola found a vintage leather handbag from a Parisian boutique at a flea market.
- vintage dress
- vintage jewellery
- vintage watch
- vintage clothing
- vintage handbag
- vintage scarf
Grammar Patterns
vintage + noun (attributive)
Usage Note
Used specifically for fashion and accessories. Differs from sense 1 (FROM PAST ERA) by focusing on wearable items and their style value rather than an object's general era character.
3. having the excellent quality and lasting appeal that makes something a fine exam
having the excellent quality and lasting appeal that makes something a fine example of its kind
Quinn's novel is a vintage work of fiction that critics still praise today.
vintage + work of [genre] (quality sense)
Andrés described the film as a vintage example of classic Hollywood storytelling.
collocation: vintage example
The restaurant's baked cheesecake is a vintage recipe that guests have requested for forty years.
collocation: vintage recipe
Critics called the album a vintage performance that showed the band at its best.
collocation: vintage performance
The critic called the film a vintage example of Japanese cinema at its finest.
collocation: vintage example
- vintage example
- vintage performance
- vintage piece
- vintage dish
- vintage wine (non-year sense)
- classic
very similar but emphasises timelessness and recognisable quality
- superb
focuses on excellence without suggesting age or tradition
- superlative
formal and stresses that nothing is better, without the idea of a past era
- mediocre
of average or low quality
Grammar Patterns
vintage + noun (attributive)
Usage Note
Used before nouns that name a category — a film, a performance, an example. The sense praises the item as representing the best of its type.
4. describing a wine that was made from grapes grown in a single named year and is
describing a wine that was made from grapes grown in a single named year and is of a quality that allows it to improve with age
The 2015 vintage champagne from that region won several international awards.
vintage + [year] + [type of wine]
Yuki decided to buy a vintage port from 1994 for the celebration dinner.
Wine experts consider that year a fine vintage for French Bordeaux.
fine/great/excellent + vintage
Lauren opened a 2015 vintage bottle of sauvignon blanc to serve with the grilled fish.
The vineyard's 2018 vintage sold out within weeks of its release.
- vintage wine
- vintage port
- vintage champagne
- vintage bottle
- vintage Bordeaux
- non-vintage
a blend of wines from different years, not tied to a single harvest
Grammar Patterns
vintage + noun (attributive)
Usage Note
Used before a type of wine (port, champagne, Bordeaux) or the phrase 'vintage bottle'. The year is a key part of the meaning — without a year or a wine type, this sense is unlikely.
Common Mistakes
5. no longer modern or current in a way that seems old-fashioned — sometimes used h
no longer modern or current in a way that seems old-fashioned — sometimes used humorously or with mild disapproval
Eve told her brother his music taste was a bit vintage for his age.
informal, slightly negative use
My uncle's vintage opinions about technology make it hard to discuss new gadgets with him.
vintage + opinion/view/attitude
The teacher laughed and called her old laptop 'vintage' compared to the new models.
humorous use with scare quotes implied
Nikhil's vintage approach to marketing did not work well with younger customers.
Yael's phone is so old that her friends joke it has become a vintage item.
- vintage opinion
- vintage approach
- vintage taste
- vintage attitude
- old-fashioned
more direct and clearer in negative meaning; less likely to be humorous
- dated
suggests something belongs to an earlier time and is no longer appropriate
- outdated
emphasises that something is no longer useful or relevant
Grammar Patterns
vintage + noun (attributive)
Usage Note
Often used in a joking or mildly critical tone. Differs from sense 1 (FROM PAST ERA) which is neutral or positive — this sense carries a suggestion that something is behind the times.
Common Mistakes
vintage — noun
1. a wine created from grapes harvested in one specific named growing season, or th
a wine created from grapes harvested in one specific named growing season, or that season regarded in terms of its wine output
The winemaker described 2009 as an excellent vintage for the region.
[year] + is/was + [adjective] + vintage
This shop sells fine vintages from France, Italy, and California.
Aylin compared the 2012 and 2016 vintages to see which one had aged better.
compare + vintages
The collector owns several rare vintages stored in a temperature-controlled cellar.
Andrés asked the waiter which vintage of the cabernet they were serving.
which vintage of + [wine type]
- excellent vintage
- fine vintage
- rare vintage
- vintage of the year
- classic vintage
Grammar Patterns
a + [year] + vintage
vintage of + [year]
Usage Note
When used as a countable noun, a specific year is usually mentioned: 'the 2010 vintage'. The uncountable use is less common and appears in phrases like 'a shop selling vintage'.
Common Mistakes
2. the group of people or things that all date from the same period, often sharing
the group of people or things that all date from the same period, often sharing similar characteristics
This group of actors belongs to the same vintage — they all graduated in 2010.
the same vintage (people)
Amin and the other engineers from the same 1998 vintage now lead tech companies across Asia.
the same + [year] + vintage (people)
Bao studied the 1970s fashion vintage for a project about music and clothing trends.
[decade] + fashion vintage
Zola and her colleagues are from the same vintage — they all joined the firm in 2015.
professional / political / artistic + vintage
The cameras in the museum collection are of the same 1940s vintage as the radios displayed nearby.
of the same + vintage (noun pattern)
- same vintage
- of the same vintage
- professional vintage
- political vintage
- cohort
formal term used mainly for people in statistics or sociology
- generation
broader term covering a longer time span; not tied to a single year
- crop
informal and used for groups of people entering a field at the same time
Grammar Patterns
the same vintage
of the same vintage
Usage Note
Often follows 'from the same ~' or 'of the same ~'. Common with professional, artistic, or academic groups. Less frequent for physical objects than for people.
3. old clothes, accessories, and other fashion items considered as a category of pr
old clothes, accessories, and other fashion items considered as a category of products valued for representing a past style well
The market in Taipei is famous for its vintage — old clothes, records, and cameras.
Yael started selling vintage clothes and accessories online and soon earned a steady income.
sell + vintage
Lauren found a 1960s wool coat while shopping for vintage at a market in Berlin.
shop for + vintage
The store specialises in French vintage from the 1950s and 1960s.
Eve bought several pieces of vintage jewellery and handbags at the charity sale last Saturday.
pieces of + vintage
- sell vintage
- shop for vintage
- collect vintage
- piece of vintage
- French vintage
- buy vintage
- retro items
can include new things made in a retro style, unlike 'vintage' which means genuinely old
- second-hand clothing
broader term, not limited to stylish items from the past
- new items
recently produced fashion goods
Grammar Patterns
collect + vintage
sell vintage
shop for vintage
Usage Note
Uncountable — you cannot say 'a vintage' to mean an old item (use 'a vintage piece' or 'vintage item'). Distinguish from noun sense 1 (YEAR'S WINE) which is countable and wine-related.
Common Mistakes
Synonym discussion
Sense: adjective/1
Vintage, antique, retro, classic, and old all relate to things from the past, but they differ in age, value, and connotation. 'Vintage' (from PAST ERA sense) refers to items 20–100 years old that represent the style of their era — a vintage car from the 1960s. 'Antique' typically means at least 100 years old and suggests rarity or monetary value. 'Retro' describes modern items designed to imitate past styles — a retro lamp that looks 1950s but was made last year. 'Classic' emphasises enduring quality and timeless appeal rather than age, such as a classic novel. 'Old' is a neutral term for anything aged, without style judgment. For example: a vintage dress (original, 1960s), a retro-styled dress (new, 1950s-inspired), and an old dress (simply worn, no style comment).
Common collocations
Etymology
Vintage entered English in the 1400s from the French word 'vendange', meaning the grape harvest. That French term came from the Latin 'vindemia', a combination of 'vinum' (wine) and 'demere' (to take away or remove). So the original meaning was literally 'taking away the grapes' at harvest time. Over the centuries, the word moved from referring strictly to the wine harvest and the wine from a single year to describing anything old, high-quality, or representative of a past era.