age

UK: /ˈeɪdʒ/ US: /eɪdʒ/ ,(āj)

Inflections of 'age' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

ages

v 3rd person singular

aging

v pres p

ageing

v pres p

aged

v past

aged

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

age /eɪdʒ/   n., v., aged, ag•ing or age•ing. 
n. 

1. the length of time during which a being or thing has existed;
   length of life or existence:
   [uncountable] Trees of unknown age.
   [countable] Their ages are 10 and 13.
2. a period of human life, measured by years from birth, when a person is regarded as having certain powers or being qualified for certain privileges or responsibilities:
   [uncountable] has reached the age of reason;
   is under the legal drinking age;
   was over the age of military service.
3. one of the periods or stages of human life:
   [uncountable] a person of middle age.
4. [uncountable] advanced years;
   old age:
   His eyes were dim with age.
5. a generation or a series of generations:
   [countable] the ages not yet born.
6. the period of history in which an individual lives:
   [countable* often singular] the most famous architect of the age.
7. a particular period of history;
   a historical epoch:
   [countable* often: Age] the Bronze Age.
8. a long period of time:
   [countable* often plural] I haven't seen you for ages.
9. average life expectancy:
   [countable] The ages of different species of horses vary from 25 to 30 years.

v. 

10. to (cause to) grow old: [no object]
    She is aging gracefully.
    [~ + object]
    Worry aged him overnight.
11. to (cause to) come to maturity: [no object]
    The wine aged in great wooden barrels.
    [~ + object]
    cheese aged for at least three years.

Idioms

12. Law be or come of age, to reach an age at which one may vote, etc., as specified by law:
    had to be of age to drink beer legally.

Related Words

age is both a noun and a verb, aged and aging are adjectives but they can also be used as plural nouns:
His age is twenty-one. He aged dramatically during the crisis. The aged have rights, too. The aging generation needs a variety of social services.

-age, suffix.  -age is used to form noncount mass or abstract nouns:

1. It is used to form nouns from other nouns, with meanings such as "collection'' (coinage = a collection or group of coins) and "quantity or measure'' (footage = quantity of feet in measurement).
2. It is also used to form nouns from verbs, with meanings such as "process'' (coverage = the act or process of covering), "the outcome of, the fact of '' or "the physical effect or remains of '' (spoilage = the result of spoiling;
   wreckage = the remains of wrecking), and "amount charged'' (towage = charge for towing;
   postage = amount charged for posting, that is, sending through the mail).

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

age  (āj), n., v., aged, ag•ing or age•ing. 
n. 

1. the length of time during which a being or thing has existed;
   length of life or existence to the time spoken of or referred to:
   trees of unknown age; His age is 20 years.
2. a period of human life, measured by years from birth, usually marked by a certain stage or degree of mental or physical development and involving legal responsibility and capacity:
   the age of discretion;
   the age of consent;
   The state raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 years.
3. the particular period of life at which a person becomes naturally or conventionally qualified or disqualified for anything:
   He was over age for military duty.
4. one of the periods or stages of human life:
   a person of middle age.
5. advanced years;
   old age:
   His eyes were dim with age.
6. a particular period of history, as distinguished from others;
   a historical epoch:
   the age of Pericles;
   the Stone Age;
   the age of electronic communications.
7. the period of history contemporary with the span of an individual's life:
   He was the most famous architect of the age.
8. a generation or a series of generations:
   ages yet unborn.
9. a great length of time:
   I haven't seen you for an age. He's been gone for ages.
10. the average life expectancy of an individual or of the individuals of a class or species:
    The age of a horse is from 25 to 30 years.
11. Psychology the level of mental, emotional, or educational development of a person, esp. a child, as determined by various tests and based on a comparison of the individual's score with the average score for persons of the same chronological age.
12. Geology
    • a period of the history of the earth distinguished by some special feature:
      the Ice Age.
    • a unit of geological time, shorter than an epoch, during which the rocks comprising a stage were formed.
13. any of the successive periods in human history divided, according to Hesiod, into the golden, silver, bronze, heroic, and iron ages.
14. Games [Cards.]
    • [Poker.] the first player at the dealer's left. Cf. edge (def. 10a).
    • See eldest hand. 
15. Law of age:
    • being any of several ages, usually 21 or 18, at which certain legal rights, as voting or marriage, are acquired.
    • being old enough for full legal rights and responsibilities.

v.i. 

16. to grow old:
    He is aging rapidly.
17. to mature, as wine, cheese, or wood:
    a heavy port that ages slowly.

v.t. 

18. to make old;
    cause to grow or seem old:
    Fear aged him overnight.
19. to bring to maturity or a state fit for use:
    to age wine.
20. Electricity to store (a permanent magnet, a capacitor, or other similar device) so that its electrical or magnetic characteristics become constant.

• Latin aetātem accusative of ae(vi)tās age; aev(um) time, lifetime + -itās -ity) + -age -age; (verb, verbal) Middle English agen, derivative of the noun, nominal
• Anglo-French, Old French aage, eage, equivalent. to aé (
• (noun, nominal) Middle English 1225–75

Synonyms

• 6. Age, epoch, era, period all refer to an extent of time.
  Age usually implies a considerable extent of time, esp. one associated with a dominant personality, influence, characteristic, or institution:
  the age of chivalry.
  Epoch and era are often used interchangeably to refer to an extent of time characterized by changed conditions and new undertakings:
  an era
  (or epoch) of invention. epoch sometimes refers especially to the beginning of an era:
  the steam engine--an epoch in technology.
  A period may be long or short, but usually has a marked condition or feature:
  the glacial period; a period of expansion.
• 17. ripen, mellow, develop.

-age, 

1. a suffix typically forming mass or abstract nouns from various parts of speech, occurring originally in loanwords from French (voyage;
   courage) and productive in English with the meanings "aggregate'' (coinage;
   peerage;
   trackage), "process'' (coverage;
   breakage), "the outcome of '' as either "the fact of '' or "the physical effect or remains of '' (seepage;
   wreckage;
   spoilage), "place of living or business'' (parsonage;
   brokerage), "social standing or relationship'' (bondage;
   marriage;
   patronage), and "quantity, measure, or charge'' (footage;
   shortage;
   tonnage;
   towage).

• Latin -āticum, neuter of -āticus adjective, adjectival suffix; an extension of Latin -āta -ate¹, whose range of senses it reflects closely
• Old French
• Middle English

Ag.E., 

1. Agricultural Engineer.

A.G.E., 

1. Education, Associate in General Education.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

age / eɪdʒ/ noun

1. the period of time that a person, animal, or plant has lived or is expected to live
2. the period of existence of an object, material, group, etc: the age of this table is 200 years
3. a period or state of human life: he should know better at his age, the tricky age when peer pressure comes into play
4. (as modifier): age group
5. the latter part of life
6. a period of history marked by some feature or characteristic; era
7. (capital when part of a name): the Middle Ages, the Space Age
8. generation: the Edwardian age
9. a period of the earth's history distinguished by special characteristics: the age of reptiles
10. the period during which a stage of rock strata is formed; a subdivision of an epoch
11. (often plural) a relatively long time: they spent an age at the showroom, I've been waiting ages
12. the level in years that a person has reached in any area of development, such as mental or emotional, compared with the normal level for his chronological age
13. of age ⇒ adult and legally responsible for one's actions (usually at 18 or, formerly, 21 years)

verb (ages, ageing, aging, aged)

1. to grow or make old or apparently old; become or cause to become old or aged
2. to begin to seem older: he seems to have aged a lot in the past year
3. to mature or cause to mature

Etymology: 13th Century: via Old French from Vulgar Latin aetatīcum (unattested), from Latin aetās, ultimately from aevum lifetime; compare aeon

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-age suffix:forming_nouns

1. indicating a collection, set, or group: acreage, baggage
2. indicating a process or action or the result of an action: haulage, passage, breakage
3. indicating a state, condition, or relationship: bondage, parentage
4. indicating a house or place: orphanage
5. indicating a charge or fee: postage
6. indicating a rate: dosage, mileage

Etymology: from Old French, from Late Latin -āticum, noun suffix, neuter of -āticus, adjectival suffix, from -ātus -ate¹ + -icus -ic