the oldest trick in the book
old
noun[ plural ]
uk /əʊld/ us /oʊld/
 the old
old people considered together as a group: 老年人，长者
These cuts in services will particularly affect the old.许多服务项目被取消，这样做对老年人的影响尤其大。
The old are particularly vulnerable to these fraudsters.
These holidays are aimed at the old.
The old tend to have a different perspective on war.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

The elderly
advanced
advancing
age
aged
ageism
crock
gaffer
geriatrics
gerontological
gerontologist
gerontology
golden oldie
infirmity
old-timer
oldie
pension fund
pensioner
rest home
the gray dollar
the grey market

old | American Dictionary

old
adjective[ -er/-est only ]
us/oʊld/

oldadjective[-er/-est only] (EXISTING A LONG TIME)

having lived or existed for a long time in comparison to others of the same kind:
An old man lives there with his dog.
They have a beautiful old farm house in the country.
She got very depressed in her old age (= the time of her life when she was old).

oldadjective[-er/-est only] (KNOWN A LONG TIME)

(esp. of a friend) known for a long time:
She’s one of my oldest friends.
infml Old is also used to show that you know and like someone:
Poor old Frank broke his arm.

oldadjective[-er/-est only] (AGE)

having a particular age, or an age suited to a particular activity or condition:
a 14-year-old
Charlie is older than I.
You’re old enough to know better.

oldadjective[-er/-est only] (PREVIOUS)

from a previous time or a period in the past; former :
Our old house in Lakewood burned down.
Sharon gave her old skates to her younger cousin.

Examples of old

old
Meanwhile, the state granted tracts of land to nobles or permitted them to purchase land in what had become the old borderlands.
It is based on a one-year qualitative research project, which seeks to explore the experiences of social dance for older dancers.
Specifically, the younger children might be expected to show greater phonetic sensitivity to the input than older children.
Any categorisation of chronological age obscures the physiological, psychological and social diversity of older people.
The unsatisfactory housing of these older people can be expected to have consequences for their physical and psychological well-being.
Psychological distress among older primary care attenders is associated with frequent attendance.
A group of 27 older adults in inpatient rehabilitation were interviewed during the programme and after returning home.
Science advances by replacing old theories with new ones that make better predictions.
This does seem to be a somewhat anthropocentric viewpoint and one, moreover, that effectively replaces the old culture/nature dualism with a human/non-human dualism.
Some fences have been replaced and moved compared to older maps, but it is still quite easy to recognize the localities from former studies.
Perhaps only older children understand indirect requests as observers.
This new policy contrasts clearly with the party's old policy, which rarely reflected the interests of consumers.
Over the past five years older children have become unruly.
That older actresses play fewer roles than older men is perhaps not surprising.
Training should be multidisciplinary and multi-agency and involve older people and carers to develop a shared understanding of roles and needs.
See all examples of old
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