middle age

noun

: the period of life from about 45 to about 64

middle-aged

ˌmi-dᵊl-ˈājd 

adjective

middle-ager

ˌmi-dᵊl-ˈā-jər 

noun

Examples of middle age in a Sentence

as our generation approaches middle age

The patient was in late middle age.

He feared the approach of middle age.

Recent Examples on the Web

At middle age, the idea of keeping up with a group of teens at Six Flags during the heat of summer hit with the kind of anxiety typically reserved for the first drop of a roller coaster. — Jon Waterhouse, AJC.com, 9 July 2026

People tend to think of middle age as a time when life is set—your job, your relationships, everything is pretty stable. — Dominique Fluker, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Dance-music producers are notorious for mellowing in middle age. — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 25 June 2026

But more recently, as ideas about what middle age looks like have shifted, along with the changing demographics of viewers, these films have largely disappeared. — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for middle age

• disengage
• interstage
• macrophage
• multistage
• alienage
• assuage
• backstage
• bocage
• downstage
• engage
• enrage
• leafage

Kids Definition

middle age

noun

: the period of life from about 45 to about 64

middle-aged

ˌmid-ᵊl-ˈājd

adjective

Medical Definition

middle age

noun

mid·​dle age ˌmid-ᵊl-ˈāj 

: the period of life from about 45 to about 64 years of age

middle-aged

ˌmid-ᵊl-ˈājd 

adjective