HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
-age
Share:
Tweet suff. 1. a. Collection; mass: sewerage. b. Amount: footage. 2. Relationship; connection: parentage. 3. Condition; state: vagabondage. 4. a. An action: blockage. b. Result of an action: breakage. 5. Residence or place of: vicarage. 6. Charge or fee: cartage. [Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *-āticum, abstract n. suff., from Latin -āticum, n. and adj. suff.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. 1. a. The length of time that a person or thing has existed: a man 23 years of age; wanted to know the age of the house. b. The time of life when a person becomes qualified to assume certain civil and personal rights and responsibilities, usually at 18 or 21 years; legal age: under age; of age. c. One of the stages of life: the age of adolescence; at an awkward age. d. The state of being old; old age: hair white with age. 2. often Age a. A period of time marked by a distinctive characteristic, achievement, or figure: the Stone Age; the computer age; the Elizabethan Age. b. A period in the history of the earth, usually shorter than an epoch: the Ice Age. 3. a. The period of history during which a person lives: a product of his age. b. A generation: ages yet unborn. 4. ages Informal An extended period of time: left ages ago. v. aged, ag·ing, ag·es v.tr. 1. To cause to become old or to show the signs of becoming old: The stress of the office visibly aged the president. 2. To cause to mature or ripen under controlled conditions: aging wine. 3. To change (the characteristics of a device) through use, especially to stabilize (an electronic device). v.intr. Phrasal Verb: 1. To become old or show signs of becoming old: Who doesn't want to age gracefully? 2. To develop a certain quality of ripeness; become mature: cheese aging at room temperature. age out Informal Idiom: To reach an age, 18 or 21 years, for example, at which one is no longer eligible for certain special services, such as education or protection, from the state. come of age To reach maturity. [Middle English, from Old French aage, from Vulgar Latin *aetāticum, from Latin aetās, aetāt-, age; see aiw- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] ager n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
