elderly

el·der·ly | \ ˈel-dər-lē

How to pronounce elderly (audio)

\

Definition of elderly

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : rather old especially : being past middle age

b : old-fashioned

2 : of, relating to, or characteristic of later life or elderly persons

elderly

plural elderly or elderlies

Definition of elderly (Entry 2 of 2)

: an elderly person

Other Words from elderly Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about elderly

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of elderly in a Sentence

Adjective The program is intended to provide medical care for elderly people. elderly people who stay active are usually the healthiest and the happiest

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective In the Tampa area, tornadoes blew a tree onto a mobile home, trapping an elderly woman. — Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY, "11 tornadoes reported across South as deadly storm causes power outages, major flooding," 8 Feb. 2020 Tornados caused minor damage in the Tampa Bay, Fla. area, where a tree was blown onto a mobile home, trapping an elderly woman who was later hospitalized. — Greg Norman | Fox News, Fox News, "Winter storm churning through eastern US after battering the south," 7 Feb. 2020 One was an elderly woman on a fixed income who lent her car to her grandson. — Aubrey Wieber, Anchorage Daily News, "Program targeting traffic-fine scofflaws is unfair and should be repealed, Anchorage ombudsman says," 7 Feb. 2020 Trump in his State of the Union address invoked the recent murder of an elderly woman by an undocumented immigrant who had twice been subject to detainer requests in New York. — Washington Post, "Trump officials threaten to expand retaliation for ‘sanctuary’ policies to more states as N.Y. residents are kicked out of Global Entry," 6 Feb. 2020 Mobile police are looking for a serial robbery suspect who has robbed multiple elderly women. — Levi Edwards | Ledwards@al.com, al, "Mobile police looking for serial robbery suspect," 4 Feb. 2020 On that date, Forgach, of Parma Heights, saved the life of an elderly woman by instructing the woman’s grandson, over the phone, how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. — cleveland, "Dispatcher, a Parma Heights resident, lauded for efforts in saving life of Richmond Heights grandmother," 31 Jan. 2020 An off-duty sheriff's detective was killed in Los Angeles on Sunday while trying to help an elderly woman cross the street, authorities said. — Ben Kesslen, NBC News, "Off-duty Los Angeles officer killed while helping elderly woman cross the street," 13 Jan. 2020 An off-duty Sheriff's Detective was struck and killed by a vehicle in Los Angeles after assisting an elderly woman cross the street Sunday. — CBS News, "Off-duty Los Angeles detective fatally struck by car as she helped elderly woman," 13 Jan. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'elderly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about elderly

Dictionary Entries near elderly

elder statesman

Statistics for elderly

Last Updated

13 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Elderly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elderly. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

acumen

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

More Confusing Words—Quiz

The magician ______ moved the selected card to the top of the deck.

discreetly discretely

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.