oldest

Pluraloldests

1. 1
   adjective

   Superlative of old.

   The oldest tree in the forest has stood for several centuries.

   He is the oldest member of the committee by nearly a decade.

   Note

   The regular -est superlative, and it carries every meaning old has: the longest-lived person, the longest-standing building, the most worn coat in the closet. It normally comes after the or a possessive. It often appears in the phrase one of the oldest, as when the AA Book of British Villages (1980) calls a church clock built in 1525 one of the oldest timepieces in England.

2. 2
   noun

   The first-born child in a family, or the most senior individual within a group.

   The oldest inherited the family farm after their father passed away.

   In any wolf pack, the oldest usually leads the others on the hunt.

   Similareldest, firstborn

   Oppositeyoungest

   Note

   The adjective standing on its own as a noun, with child or member left unsaid. Parents use it with a possessive (my oldest, our oldest) to mean their first-born. As a full noun it can even take a plural, oldests. Outside the family it usually needs the and a group in view, the same frame as the plain superlative.

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