Definition of elder adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

elder

adjective

/ˈeldə(r)/

/ˈeldər/

[only before noun] (of people, especially two members of the same family) older
- my elder brother
- his elder sister
Topics Life stagesc1

Want to learn more?

Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
the elder
used without a noun immediately after it to show who is the older of two people
- the elder of their two sons
the elder
(formal) used before or after somebody’s name to show that they are the older of two people who have the same name
- the elder Pitt
- Pitt the elder
Synonyms old
oldelderly ▪ aged ▪ long-lived ▪ matureThese words all describe somebody/something that has lived for a long time or that usually lives for a long time.
old having lived for a long time; no longer young:
She’s getting old—she’s 75 next year.
elderly (rather formal) used as a polite word for ‘old’:
She is very busy caring for two elderly relatives.
aged (formal) very old:
Having aged relatives to stay in your house can be quite stressful.
long-lived having a long life; lasting for a long time:
Everyone in my family is exceptionally long-lived.
mature used as a polite or humorous way of saying that somebody is no longer young:
clothes for the mature woman
Patterns
- a(n) old/elderly/aged/long-lived/mature man/woman
- a(n) old/elderly/aged/mature gentleman/lady/couple
compare the youngerTopics Family and relationshipsc1

Word Originadjective Old English ieldra, eldra, of Germanic origin; related to German älter, also to old.

See elder in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee elder in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Check pronunciation: elder

All matches

noun

From the Word list

Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day