Definition of "age" in Englisch

noun

1. (countable) The amount of time that some being has been alive, or that some thing has been in existence, as measured from its birth or origin until the present or until some other given reference point. (Often measured in number of years; alternatively in months, days, hours, etc.; see also the usage notes)

   • "What is the age of your oldest child?" — "He's ten." (ten years old)
   • What were their ages at the time of their marriage?
   • We can determine the age of fossils using radiometric dating.
   • What is the present age of the earth?
   • I have a daughter your age, and I tell her when I was your age I was already working.
   • You should play with kids the same age as you.
   • At your age, your mom and I'd already found a job.
   • We both have kids under age four.

2. (uncountable) The state of being old; the latter part of life.

   • Feel awfully about Scott... It was a terrible thing for him to love youth so much that he jumped straight from youth to senility without going through manhood. The minute he felt youth going he was frightened again and thought there was nothing between youth and age.
   • Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age, sometimes age just shows up all by itself.

3. (countable) Any particular stage of life.

   • the age of infancy

4. (countable) The time of life at which some particular power or capacity is understood to become vested.

   • the age of consent; the age of discretion

5. (uncountable) Maturity; especially, the time of life at which one attains full personal rights and capacities.

   • to come of age; she is now of age

6. (countable) A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.

   • the golden age of cinema; the first age of colonialism; a bygone age

7. (astrology) One of the twelve divisions of a Great Year, equal to roughly 2000 years and governed by one of the zodiacal signs; a Platonic month.

8. (countable) A period of one hundred years; a century.

9. (countable, uncommon, possibly dated) A generation.

   • There are three ages living in her house.

10. (countable, hyperbolic) A long time.

    • It’s been an age since we last saw you.

11. (countable) Lifespan, lifetime; the total time that some being is alive from birth to death (or some category of beings, on average).