Translation of old – English–Spanish dictionary

old

adjective

/əʊld/ us

/oʊld/

NOT YOUNG/NEW

Add to word list Add to word list

having lived or existed for many years

viejo, antiguo

an old man

We're all getting older.

I was shocked by how old he looked.

Now come on, you're old enough to tie your own shoelaces, Carlos.

I'm too old to be out in the clubs every night. Soy demasiado mayor para ir de fiesta todas las noches.

a beautiful old farm house in the country

a battered old car un coche viejo y maltrecho

That's an old joke - I've heard it about a thousand times. Es un chiste muy viejo, lo he oído mil veces.

I think this cheese is old, judging by the smell of it. Creo que este queso es viejo, a juzgar por su olor.

too old disapproving (UK also a bit old); (US also a little old)

unsuitable because intended for older people

para personas más mayores

Don't you think that book is too old for you? ¿No crees que ese libro es para personas más mayores que tú?

More examplesFewer examples

A group of old men sat playing dominoes.
Many buildings in the old part of the city are falling down, and the government has no money to repair them.
As people get older, they often become set in their ways.
It would be a sacrilege to put a neon sign on that beautiful old building.
There's some wonderful calligraphy in these old manuscripts.

WHAT AGE

used to describe or ask about someone's age

de edad

How old is your father? ¿Cuántos años tiene tu padre?

Rosie's six years old now. Rosie tiene seis años.

It's not very dignified behaviour for a 54-year-old man. No es una conducta muy respetable tratándose de un hombre de 54 años.

He's a couple of years older than me. Tiene un par de años más que yo.

More examplesFewer examples

An adult under British law is someone over 18 years old.
Most children in the UK remain in full-time education until they are at least 16 years old.
How old is his daughter?
The trial was held in camera because the accused was only 14 years old.
He asked me how old I was and, lying through my teeth, I said '29'.

FROM THE PAST

A2 [ before noun ]

from a period in the past

antiguo

I saw my old English teacher last time I went home. Vi a mi antiguo profesor de inglés la última vez que volví a casa.

He bought me a new phone to replace my old one. Me compró un teléfono nuevo para reemplazar al antiguo.

She showed me her old school. Me mostró su antigua escuela.

I saw an old boyfriend of mine.

In my old job I had less responsibility.

Synonym

former

More examplesFewer examples

After six months of chopping and changing, we've decided to go back to our old system.
Just by coincidence, I met my old school-mate again 50 years later.
It will only complicate the situation if we invite his old girlfriend as well.
The new Prime Minister is cultivating relationships with old Eastern Bloc countries.
The new house is not dissimilar to our old one except that it's a bit bigger.

VERY FAMILIAR

A2 [ before noun ]

(especially of a friend) known for a long time

viejo

She's one of my oldest friends - we met in kindergarten. Es una de mis amigas más antiguas, nos conocimos en el jardín de infancia.

[ before noun ] informal

used before someone's name when you are referring to or talking to them, to show that you know that person well and like them

el bueno de

There's old Sara working away in the corner.

I hear poor old Frank's lost his job. Me han dicho que el pobre Frank se ha quedado sin trabajo.

More examplesFewer examples

Dashed decent of you, old boy!
They did a few old hits as/for an encore.
"I can't eat this meat - it's too tough." "You old fusspot - give it here and I'll eat it!"
He's a miserable old git.
He's an insipid old bore.

Grammar

Elder, eldest or older, oldest?

Elder and eldest mean the same as older and oldest. We only use the adjectives elder and eldest before a noun (as attributive adjectives), and usually when talking about relationships within a family: …

Idioms

for old times' sake
of old
the oldest trick in the book

old

noun [ plural ]

/əʊld/ us

/oʊld/

the old

old people considered together as a group

los viejos, las personas mayores

These cuts in services will particularly affect the old. Estos cortes en los servicios afectarán particularmente a las personas mayores.

More examplesFewer examples

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.

(Translation of old from the Cambridge English-Spanish Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translation of old | GLOBAL English–Spanish Dictionary

old

adjective

/oʊld/

not young

viejo/ja [ masculine-feminine, singular ] mayor [ masculine-feminine, singular ]

an old man un hombre viejo

my oldest son mi hijo mayor

not new

viejo/ja [ masculine-feminine, singular ] antiguo/gua [ masculine-feminine, singular ]

an old car un coche viejo

She’s one of my oldest friends. Ella es una de mis más viejas amigas.

indicates the age of sb or sth

edad [ feminine, singular ] años [ masculine, plural ]

How old are you? ¿Cuántos años tienes?

years old

años años de edad

The house is around 15 years old. La casa tiene unos 15 años.

previous or from the past

antiguo/gua [ masculine-feminine, singular ] viejo/ja [ masculine-feminine, singular ]

old teaching methods métodos de enseñanza antiguos

my old school mi vieja escuela

Examples of old

old

The unsatisfactory housing of these older people can be expected to have consequences for their physical and psychological well-being.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Science advances by replacing old theories with new ones that make better predictions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Over the past five years older children have become unruly.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Psychological distress among older primary care attenders is associated with frequent attendance.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Specifically, the younger children might be expected to show greater phonetic sensitivity to the input than older children.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Training should be multidisciplinary and multi-agency and involve older people and carers to develop a shared understanding of roles and needs.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A group of 27 older adults in inpatient rehabilitation were interviewed during the programme and after returning home.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

A1,A1,A2,A2

Translations of old

in Chinese (Traditional)

存在多年的, 老的, 年老的…

Translation of old – English–Spanish dictionary

old

NOT YOUNG/NEW

WHAT AGE

FROM THE PAST

VERY FAMILIAR

Grammar

Idioms

old

Translation of old | GLOBAL English–Spanish Dictionary

Examples of old

Translations of old

Browse

Learn more with +Plus

Learn more with +Plus