age
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++age1 /eɪdʒ/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1 how old 年龄；年代HOW OLD [countable, uncountable]AGE the number of years someone has lived or something has existed 年龄；存在时间 → old Francis is the same age as me. 弗朗西斯和我同年岁。 Experts disagree over the age of the drawings. 专家对这些画作的年代意见不统一。 Dad retired at the age of 56. 爸爸是在56岁时退休的。at age 5/18 etc In Britain, schooling starts at age 5. 在英国入学年龄是5岁。4/15 etc years of age (=4,15 etc years old) 4岁/15岁等 She was just over 16 years of age. 她刚过16岁。at my/your etc age (=when you are as old as me etc) 在我/你等这个年纪 At my age, it’s quite difficult getting up the stairs. 到我这年纪，上楼梯就很费劲了。over/under the age of 5/18 etc people over the age of 65 65岁以上的人for his/her etc age (=compared with other people of the same age) 对于他/她等这个年纪来说 She’s tall for her age, isn’t she? 以她的年龄来说，她算高的，是不是？ RegisterIn everyday English, people usually use the expression how old …? rather than using the noun age: 在日常英语中，人们一般用短语how old …?而不用名词age What age is your brother? → How old is your brother? 你弟弟多大年纪？ | They asked me my age. → They asked me how old I was. 他们问我多大年纪。2 legal age 法定年龄LEGAL AGE [uncountable]SCL the age when you are legally old enough to do something 法定年龄 What’s the minimum age for getting a driver’s license? 取得驾驶执照的最小年龄是多少？ You’re not allowed to buy alcohol. You’re under age (=too young by law). 你年纪太小，不可以买酒。 The normal retirement age is 65. 正常的退休年龄是65岁。3 period of life 人生中的阶段PERIOD OF LIFE [countable, uncountable]PERIOD OF TIME one of the particular periods of someone’s life 年龄段 When you get to old age, everything seems to take longer. 人到老年，好像做什么事都慢。 The early teens are often a difficult age. 十三四岁往往是个麻烦的年龄。4 being old 年老; 陈旧BEING OLD [uncountable]OLD-FASHIONEDOLD/NOT NEW the state of being old 年老；陈旧 → youthwith age High blood pressure increases with age. 随着年龄增长，高血压会更厉害。 Some of the furniture was showing signs of age. 有些家具已显陈旧。5 period of history 历史阶段PERIOD OF HISTORY [countable usually singular]SHPERIOD OF TIME a particular period of history 时代，世代 SYN era We are living in the age of technology. 我们生活在科技时代。 Molecular biology is pushing medicine into a new age. 分子生物学正在将医学推向一个新时代。 → in this day and age at day(6)► see thesaurus at period6 ages [plural] (also an age)LONG TIME especially British English informal a long time 长时间 Simon! I haven’t seen you for ages. 西蒙，我已经好久没有见到你了！ That recipe takes ages. 那道菜忙半天才能做出来。it’s ages since/before/until etc something It’s ages since we’ve played that game. 我们已经好久没有玩过那种游戏了。7 come of age → New Age1, New Age2 COLLOCATIONS – Meanings 1,2 & 3ADJECTIVES/NOUN + ageold age (=the time when you are old) 老年the problems of old age 老年的问题middle age (=between about 40 and 60) 中年He was in late middle age. 他年近60。a great/advanced age (=a very old age) 高龄，高寿My aunt died at a great age. 我姨妈活到高龄才去世。nKirby is not alone in wanting to run his own business at an advanced age. a difficult/awkward age (=used mainly about the time when people are teenagers) 麻烦的年龄〔主要指青少年时期〕n13 – 16 is often a difficult age.retirement age 退休年龄nThe risk of experiencing poverty is much greater for those over retirement age.school age 学龄nChildren should start doing homework as they approach high school age.school-leaving age British English 毕业年龄nThe government is proposing to raise the minimum school-leaving age.the legal age 法定年龄nIn the US, the legal age for drinking alcohol is 21.the minimum age 最小年龄n16 years is the minimum age to drive a car. the voting age 投票年龄plans to bring down the voting age from 18 to 16 投票年龄由21岁降至18岁。the marrying age 结婚年龄nShe was 28 – long past the usual marrying age.phrasesfrom an early/young age 从很小的时候She’d been playing the piano from a very early age. 她自幼就弹钢琴。at an early/young age 在很小的时候Kids can start learning a second language at a young age. 孩子很小就可以开始学习第二语言。somebody (of) your own age 和你同年的人He needs to find people his own age. 他需要去找同龄人。of childbearing age (=at the age when a woman can have children) 〔女性〕育龄的nIt is against the law to refuse to employ a woman of childbearing age because she may become pregnant. of working age 处于工作年龄的n55 percent of the people are of working age.the age of consent (=when you are legally allowed to marry or have sex) 法定结婚年龄，〔可发生性关系的〕合法年龄nAt 15, the girl was under the age of consent.age + NOUNan age group/bracket/range 年龄段Men in the 50–65 age group are most at risk from heart disease. 50至65岁年龄段的男性最容易患心脏病。n The school takes in children from the seven to eleven age range. an age limit 年龄限制nThere’s no upper age limit for drivers. nage discriminationlaws against age discrimination in the workplaceverbsget to/reach/live to a particular age （活）到某个年龄One in three children here die before they reach the age of 5. 三分之一的儿童不到五岁就死亡。nThe number of people living to to the age of 80 has doubled in the last fifty years.lower/raise the age (=at which something can be done) 降低/提高法定年龄The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. 投票年龄由21岁降至18岁。look/feel your age (=look or feel as old as you really are) 容貌与年龄相当/感到自己上年纪nThe singer is 46, but she doesn’t look her age at all.nI keep getting aches in my legs and I’m starting to feel my age.act your age (=behave in the way that a person of your age should behave) 行为和年龄相称nIt’s time he started acting his age.ask/say your age (=ask or say how old you are) 问人年龄/说自己的年龄nIt’s rude to ask a woman her age.n COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 5: a particular period of history 时代，世代the Ice Age (=one of the long periods of time, thousands of years ago, when ice covered many northern countries)the Stone Age (=the very early time in human history, when only stone was used for making tools, weapons etc)the Bronze Age (=the period of time, between about 6,000 and 4,000 years ago, when bronze was used for making tools, weapons etc)the Iron Age (=the period of time, about 3,000 years ago, when iron was first used for making tools, weapons etc)the Middle Ages (=the period in European history between about 1100 and 1500 AD)the Dark Ages (=the period in European history from 476 AD to about 1000 AD)the Elizabethan age (=the period 1558–1603 when Elizabeth I was queen of England)the Victorian age (=the period 1837–1901 when Victoria was queen of England)the industrial age (=the time during the late 18th and early 19th centuries when goods or substances such as coal and steel were first produced in large quantities using machines)the modern age (=from the 20th century until the present)the technical and scientific achievements that ushered in the modern agethe space age (=since vehicles were able to travel in space)the nuclear age (=since nuclear energy was used for weapons or energy)the computer age (=since computers became widely used)the modern computer agethe information age (=since the Internet has become widely used)Business has had to evolve in the information age.a golden age (=a time of great happiness or success)a television show from the golden age of British comedya new age (=a time when things are better than they were in the past)Supporters see the coming season as the dawning of a new age for the club.
Examples from the Corpus
age• Newton lived in an age of exploration and discovery.• Nella was thirty-two, an age by which if a blonde woman's hair hasn't turned dark, it never will.• The average age of the students here is eighteen.• Many consider the '30s and '40s to be the golden age of Hollywood movies.• She's in her seventies, but very fit for her age.• I tried to guess her age but couldn't.• Jimmy's very tall for his age.• the Ice Age• I am actually a mammoth, said Jay, only I survived all your ice ages.• the architecture of the industrial age• What's the minimum age for getting a driver's license?• One is 7, and one is my age.• Their children's ages range from twelve to seventeen.• Francis is the same age as I am.• These simple tools were used for hunting in the Stone Age.• The television age has transformed the conventions into presentational exercises from which the unknown and unexpected are ruthlessly excised.• Dewhurst died at the age of seventy-three.• Experts have given different estimates of the age of the painting.• In many respects Bush is the most spun and spinning politician of the age.• The amount you pay for license tags and registration depends on the age of the vehicle.• Anyone over the age of fourteen has to pay the full fare.• This was far longer than the age of the earth as calculated by the creationists.• For example, under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, age may be taken into account in certain circumstances.• But research suggests there are now 17,000 people under the age of 65 with Alzheimer's in Britain.• In this age of the Internet, finding a job can be much easier.• The newspapers were brown with age.• I'm surprised someone of your age didn't know that.• When I was your age I was already working.for his/her etc age• She's amazing for her age.• Pushing forty but kind of athletic for his age, a worried grey face and hair going a little thin.• Relative weaknesses existed in spelling and math computation that were average for his age.• Big for his age, he towered over Garry who was eleven.• Their choices for Chelsea were always just right for her age.• Harold Morton was in the fifth grade, and he was small for his age.• Tall for her age, she held her shoulders straight, her head, with its abundant sheen of hair, high.• He is wise for his age, my nice husband.under age• The clerk sold Jeff some beer, even though he was obviously under age.showing ... age• The fluoridation plant in Watford, also showing signs of age, stopped operating in 1989.• Thinking they were just showing their age - most tourists here are 50-plus - my companion and I clambered in.age2 ●●○ verb (present participle aging or ageing British English) 1 [intransitive, transitive]OLD/NOT NEW to start looking older or to make someone or something look older （使）变老；（使）显老2 [intransitive]OLD/NOT NEW to become older 老化，变陈旧3 [intransitive, transitive]IMPROVE to improve and develop in taste over a period of time, or to allow food or alcohol to do this （使）成熟，（使）味道变醇厚 SYN mature→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
age• I couldn't believe how much she had aged.• She noticed for the first time how Frederick had aged.• The scotch is aged for ten years in oak barrels.• Western men tend to age more quickly than Japanese men.• After his wife's death, Wilfred seemed to age quickly.n-age /-ɪdʒ/ suffix [in nouns] informal nused to form new nouns referring to a quantity of something Here’s some interesting stattage (=stats, statistics) about the game.Origin age1 (1200-1300) Old French aage, from Vulgar Latin aetaticum, from Latin aetas, from aevum “lifetime, age”age1 noun →REGISTER1 →COLLOCATIONS1
→n COLLOCATIONS2age2 verb-age suffixLDOCE OnlineChinese
→n COLLOCATIONS2age2 verb-age suffixLDOCE OnlineChinese
or someone number lived Corpus something of years has the
age
age1 S1 W1 /eɪdʒ/ 
noun
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 the stairs.
over/under the age of 5/18 etc
people over the age of 65
for his/her etc age (=compared with other people of the same age)
She’s tall for her age, isn’t she?
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually use the expression how old …? rather than using the noun age:
▪ What age is your brother? ➔ How old is your brother?
▪ | They asked me my age. ➔ They asked me how old I was.
2. LEGAL AGE [uncountable] 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).
The normal retirement age is 65.
3. PERIOD OF LIFE [uncountable and countable] one of the particular periods of someone’s life:
When you get to old age, everything seems to take longer.
The early teens are often a difficult age.
4. BEING OLD [uncountable] the state of being old ⇨ youth
with age
High blood pressure increases with age.
Some of the furniture was showing signs of age.
5. PERIOD OF HISTORY [countable usually singular] a particular period of history
SYN era:
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)
6. ages [plural] (also an age) especially British English informal 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. 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.
⇨ New Age1, New Age2
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + age
▪old age (=the time when you are old) the problems of old age
▪middle age (=between about 40 and 60) He was in late middle age.
▪a great/advanced age (=a very old age) My aunt died at a great age. | Kirby is not alone in wanting to run his own business at an advanced age.
▪a difficult/awkward age (=used mainly about the time when people are teenagers) 13 – 16 is often a difficult age.
▪retirement age The risk of experiencing poverty is much greater for those over retirement age.
▪school age Children should start doing homework as they approach high school age.
▪school-leaving age British English The government is proposing to raise the minimum school-leaving age.
▪the legal age In the US, the legal age for drinking alcohol is 21.
▪the minimum age 16 years is the minimum age to drive a car.
▪the voting age plans to bring down the voting age from 18 to 16
▪the marrying age She was 28 – long past the usual marrying age.
■ phrases
▪from an early/young age She’d been playing the piano from a very early age.
▪at an early/young age Kids can start learning a second language at a young age.
▪somebody (of) your own age He needs to find people his own age.
▪of childbearing age (=at the age when a woman can have children) It is against the law to refuse to employ a woman of childbearing age because she may become pregnant.
▪of working age 55 percent of the people are of working age.
▪the age of consent (=when you are legally allowed to marry or have sex) At 15, the girl was under the age of consent.
■ age + NOUN
▪an age group/bracket/range Men in the 50–65 age group are most at risk from heart disease. | The school takes in children from the seven to eleven age range.
▪an age limit There’s no upper age limit for drivers.
▪age discrimination laws against age discrimination in the workplace
■ verbs
▪get to/reach/live to a particular age One in three children die before they reach the age of 5. | The number of people living to to the age of 80 has doubled in the last fifty years.
▪lower/raise the age (=at which something can be done) The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18.
▪look/feel your age (=look or feel as old as you really are) The singer is 46, but she doesn’t look her age at all. | I keep getting aches in my legs and I’m starting to feel my age.
▪act your age (=behave in the way that a person of your age should behave) It’s time he started acting his age.
▪ask/say your age (=ask or say how old you are) It’s rude to ask a woman her age.
▪ the Ice Age (=one of the long periods of time, thousands of years ago, when ice covered many northern countries)
▪the Stone Age (=the very early time in human history, when only stone was used for making tools, weapons etc)
▪the Bronze Age (=the period of time, between about 6,000 and 4,000 years ago, when bronze was used for making tools, weapons etc)
▪the Iron Age (=the period of time, about 3,000 years ago, when iron was first used for making tools, weapons etc)
▪the Middle Ages (=the period in European history between about 1100 and 1500 AD)
▪the Dark Ages (=the period in European history from 476 AD to about 1000 AD)
▪the Elizabethan age (=the period 1558–1603 when Elizabeth I was queen of England)
▪the Victorian age (=the period 1837–1901 when Victoria was Queen of England)
▪the industrial age (=the time during the late 18th and early 19th centuries when goods or substances such as coal and steel were first produced in large quantities using machines)
▪the modern age (=from the 20th century until the present) the technical and scientific achievements that ushered in the modern age
▪the space age (=since vehicles were able to travel in space)
▪the nuclear age (=since nuclear energy was used for weapons or energy)
▪the computer age (=since computers became widely used) the modern computer age
▪the information age (=since the Internet has become widely used) Business has had to evolve in the information age.
▪a golden age (=a time of great happiness or success) a television show from the golden age of British comedy
▪a new age (=a time when things are better than they were in the past) Supporters see the coming season as the dawning of a new age for the club.
■ a period in history
▪period a particular time in history, especially one studied as a subject: the late Victorian period | the interwar period | During that period many people moved from the countryside to the towns.
▪time a period of years, months, days etc: The 1960s were a time of great social change. | the biggest earthquake in modern times | Verdun was an important city in Roman times.
▪age a long period, especially one that represents a particular stage in the development of civilization or technology: the industrial age | We are now in the age of the Internet. | the Stone Age (=when people used tools made of stone)
▪era a long period that has a particular character or that is marked by particular events: We live in an era of breathtaking change. | the post-war era | De Gaulle’s death marked the end of an era.
▪epoch /ˈiːpɒk $ ˈepək/ formal means the same as era, but sounds more formal and important: We are now entering a new epoch in human history. | the colonial epoch | It was the end of an epoch.
age2 verb (present participle aging or ageing)
1. [intransitive and transitive] to start looking older or to make someone or something look older:
He was worried to see how much she’d aged.
The experience had aged him in advance of his years.
2. [intransitive] to become older:
The buildings are ageing, and some are unsafe.
3. [intransitive and transitive] to improve and develop in taste over a period of time, or to allow food or alcohol to do this
SYN mature:
Cheddar cheese ages well.
The whisky is aged for at least ten years.
| I |
noun Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: aage, from Vulgar Latin aetaticum, from Latin aetas, from aevum 'lifetime, age'
1. HOW OLD [uncountable and countable] the number of years someone has lived or something has existed ⇨ old:Language: Old French
Origin: aage, from Vulgar Latin aetaticum, from Latin aetas, from aevum 'lifetime, age'
at age 5/18 etc
4/15 etc years of age (=4, 15 etc years old)
at my/your etc age (=when you are as old as me etc)
over/under the age of 5/18 etc
for his/her etc age (=compared with other people of the same age)
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually use the expression how old …? rather than using the noun age:
▪ What age is your brother? ➔ How old is your brother?
▪ | They asked me my age. ➔ They asked me how old I was.
2. LEGAL AGE [uncountable] the age when you are legally old enough to do something:
3. PERIOD OF LIFE [uncountable and countable] one of the particular periods of someone’s life:
4. BEING OLD [uncountable] the state of being old ⇨ youth
with age
5. PERIOD OF HISTORY [countable usually singular] a particular period of history
SYN era:
6. ages [plural] (also an age) especially British English informal a long time:
it’s ages since/before/until etc something
7. come of age
a. 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:
⇨ New Age1, New Age2
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verb (present participle aging or ageing)1. [intransitive and transitive] to start looking older or to make someone or something look older:
2. [intransitive] to become older:
3. [intransitive and transitive] to improve and develop in taste over a period of time, or to allow food or alcohol to do this
SYN mature:
Childhood/youth 童年／青年时期
be born and raised/bred in Oxford;be born into a wealthy/middle-class family在牛津出生并长大；在富裕／中产家庭出生 have a happy/an unhappy/a tough childhood有幸福／不幸／艰苦的童年 grow up in a musical family/in an orphanage/on a farm成长于音乐之家／孤儿院／农场 be/grow up an only child (= with no brothers or sisters)是独生子 reach/hit/enter/go through adolescence/puberty进入／经历青春期 be in your teens/early twenties/mid-twenties/late twenties十几岁；二十出头；二十五岁左右；将近三十岁 undergo/experience physical/psychological changes经历生理／心理变化 give in to/succumb to/resist peer pressure屈服于／顶住同辈的压力 assert your independence/individuality维护独立／个性
Adulthood 成年
leave school/university/home中学／大学毕业；离家 go out to work (at sixteen)（16 岁）投身工作 get/find a job/partner找到工作／伴侣 be/get engaged/married订婚；结婚 have/get a wife/husband/mortgage/steady job有妻子／丈夫／按揭贷款／稳定的工作 settle down and have kids/children/a family安定下来并生儿育女 begin/start/launch/build a career (in politics/science/the music industry)开始（政治／科学／音乐）职业生涯 prove (to be)/represent/mark/reach a turning point in your life/career最终成为／代表／标志／达到某人人生／某人职业生涯的转折点 reach/be well into/settle into middle age进入／安度中年 have/suffer/go through a midlife crisis经历中年危机 take/consider early retirement提前退休；考虑提前退休 approach/announce/enjoy your retirement临近／宣布／享受退休
Old age 老年
have/see/spend time with your grandchildren有孙辈；与孙辈共度时光 take up/pursue/develop a hobby开始／追求／培养一种爱好 get/receive/draw/collect/live on a pension得到／提取／领取退休金；靠退休金生活 approach/save for/die from old age临近晚年；存钱养老；老死 live to a ripe old age高寿 reach the grand old age of 102/23( often
活到 102／23 岁高龄（常作反语） be/become/be getting/be going senile( often
变得衰老（常作反语） die (peacefully)/pass away in your sleep/after a brief illness在睡梦中／患病不久（平静地）离开人世
especially
