golden years

plural noun

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Definition of golden years

: the advanced years in a lifetime

active well into their golden years

Recent Examples of golden years from the Web

Decades from now, in his golden years, Mr. Schultz can revere himself not as a man who sold overpriced coffee, but one who his contemporaries said should be leader of the nation, dammit.

— holman w. jenkins, WSJ, "Starbucks Chief Won’t Stay Hot," 5 June 2018
His new album with the Jicks, Sparkle Hard, has been a critical success, with reviewers noting that Malkmus has found a special groove in his golden years.

— ryu spaeth, The New Republic, "What Happened to the Cool Jerk of Indie Rock?," 4 June 2018
One fork led to a 72-year-old retiree who was quietly living out his golden years in the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights.

— tj ortenzi, Washington Post, "Hunt for Golden State Killer led detectives to Hobby Lobby for DNA sample," 2 June 2018
Here are some of the trends—many overlapping, some contradictory—shaping how this generation will spend its golden years, demonstrating that older Americans, like millennials, are far from homogenous.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "The changing face of retirement: Apartment living, active lifestyles, and rural homes," 22 May 2018
But Tim Duncan is gone, and Manu Ginobili is entering his golden years, and suddenly the NBA’s most drama-free organization is home to the game’s juiciest off-court soap opera.

— mike finger, San Antonio Express-News, "Across NBA, Spurs’ influence still spreading," 5 May 2018
One fork led to a 72-year-old retiree who was quietly living out his golden years in the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights.

— author: justin jouvenal, Anchorage Daily News, "To find alleged Golden State Killer, investigators first found his great-great-great grandparents," 1 May 2018
Either way, Manning, who got to pick his NFL team as a rookie without any scrutiny, now gets to have his golden years tailored to him.

— conor orr, SI.com, "Winners and Losers of the 2018 NFL Draft," 29 Apr. 2018
The golden years are likely to be tarnished for nearly half the country.

— chris morris, Fortune, "42% of Americans Have Less Than $10,000 Saved For Retirement," 18 Apr. 2018

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