English

Suffix

-year-old

1. Suffix used to indicate the age of something or someone, in terms of years.
   • 2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2-1 Olympiakos”, in BBC Sport:

     But the home side were ahead in the eighth minute through 18-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain.

   • 2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30:

     Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. […] Children address teachers by their first names. Even 15-year-olds do no more than 30 minutes' homework a night.

   A seventy-year-old man's body was found in a river last night.‎

Usage notes

The suffix is used for nouns as well as adjectives, e.g.

• I am in love with a thirty-year-old. (noun)
• The 200-year-old remains were found last night. (adjective)

Related terms

Translations