# old man

Pronunciation: say "ohld-MAN" US /ˌoʊld ˈmæn/, UK /ˌəʊld ˈmæn/; AUS

## Noun

1. An elderly man.
   - Simple: A man who has lived for many years.
   - _The old man next door still shovels his own driveway every winter._
   - _A group of old men met at the diner each morning to argue about baseball._
2. A person's father. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Someone's father, often the speaker's own father.
   - _My old man worked at the same factory for thirty years._
   - _Her old man wouldn't let her go on a date until she turned eighteen._
3. A husband or male partner, whatever his age. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Someone's husband or boyfriend, whatever his age.
   - _Her old man proposed to her on a fishing trip when they were both twenty-two._
   - _She left her old man at home with the kids and went out dancing with her sisters._
4. The man one works for, whatever his age. *(slang)*
   - Simple: The man who is in charge where you work, whatever his age.
   - _The old man gave everyone a bonus after the company's best year._
   - _Ask the old man whether we can close the shop early on Christmas Eve._
5. The commanding officer of a military unit, or the commander of a naval vessel, whatever his age. *(slang)*
   - Simple: The officer in charge of a group of soldiers or of a navy ship, whatever his age.
   - _The old man wants the whole company formed up on the parade ground at six._
   - _The crew knew the old man would never leave the bridge during a storm._
6. Used before a noun to mark something as exceptionally large, strong, or old. *(Australia)*
   - Simple: Put before a word for an animal or thing to say it is very big, strong, or old.
   - _After the party he woke up with an old man hangover and stayed in bed till noon._
   - _The road crew finally filled that old man pothole on Main Street that kept wrecking tires._
9. In Christian teaching, human nature before the spiritual change brought by redemption through Jesus Christ.
   - Simple: In Christian teaching, the sinful human nature a person has before being saved through Jesus.
   - _The preacher urged his listeners to put off the old man and begin a new life._
   - _She believed that faith had buried the old man and raised her to a new life._
10. Another name for the herb southernwood.
   - Simple: Another name for southernwood, a kind of herb.
   - _The cottage garden had lavender, rosemary and a gray-green clump of old man._
   - _A few dried stems of old man hung in the closet among the winter coats._

## Adjective · old-man

Pronunciation: say "OHLD-man" US /ˈoʊld mæn/, UK /ˈəʊld mæn/

7. Of plants and animals, exceptionally large or old. *(Australia)*
   - Simple: Very big or very old, said of plants and animals.
   - _The track wound through thick old-man scrub before it reached the river flats._
   - _An old-man emu stalked along the fence line, taller than any bird in the flock._
8. Of weather, exceptionally intense. *(Australia)*
   - Simple: Very strong or very bad, said of weather such as a flood.
   - _An old-man storm tore the roof off the shearing shed._
   - _Locals still talk about the old-man flood of their childhood, when the river rose over the bridge._

## Noun · old-man

11. Alternative spelling of oldman. Nonstandard: the usual spelling is old man. *(nonstandard)* — Alternative spelling of oldman.
   - Simple: Alternative spelling of oldman. It is a less usual way to write old man, used in very casual writing.
   - _"Her old-man drove a cab in this town for thirty years," the neighbor said._
   - _"Everybody on the street knew his old-man," she wrote in the comments._

## Noun

12. A friendly way of addressing a male friend, whatever his age. *(dated, UK)*
   - Simple: A friendly name for a male friend when you speak to him, whatever his age.
   - _Good to see you, old man; it's been far too long._
   - _Steady on, old man, there's no need to shout._

## Origin

From Middle English alde mann, aldman, elde man, oldeman, from Old English eald man.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/old-man (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).