ageing

AY-jing/ˈeɪ.d͡ʒɪŋ/

US spellingaging

5 meanings of ageing

1
growing older (process)noununcountable
Growing older over time, including the slow changes to the body, or the maturing of food and drink.
My grandmother says ageing has made her calmer and kinder.
The cheese is left for a year of ageing before it goes to the shops.
Similarmaturation
Note
2
in later yearsadjective
Getting old and moving into old age.
She moved back home to look after her ageing parents.
The ageing footballer still trains every morning.
Similarelderly, old
Oppositeyoung, youthful
3
verb
Present participle and gerund of age. Use it after words like 'is' or 'was', or as a noun for the act.
My dog is ageing, and he sleeps much more now.
The wine has been ageing in the cellar for ten years.
UsageIt can have an object: ageing the actor means making him look older.
Note
4
noununcountable
The damage that comes to things from being used for a long time.
The old bike's paint and tyres show a lot of ageing.
After ten summers out in the rain, the garden chairs showed signs of ageing.
Similarwear, deterioration

Less common meaning

5
noununcountable
The work of making something look older than it is on purpose, or in stories really making it older.
Careful ageing with dark wax made the new chair look a hundred years old.
The props team spent weeks on the ageing of the costumes, using sandpaper and tea.

Practice

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Origin

It is made from the word age with the ending -ing.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Ageing is made from age with the ending -ing. en.wiktionary.org