Phrases
the Old World
: the eastern hemisphere exclusive of Australia
… the pomegranate has been naturalized for so long throughout the Old World that no one is quite sure where it originated (but Persia seems most likely).—
Elizabeth Schneider
Elizabeth SchneiderDuring the late Miocene, various kinds of apes evolved in widely separated parts of the Old World (but none in the New World).—Marvin Harris
Marvin Harris
specifically
: the continent of Europe
The Atlantic is a Lethean stream, in our passage over which we have had an opportunity to forget the Old World and its institutions. —Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau From America, the Old World would receive new staffs of life, such as corn and potatoes, as well as some of life's guilty pleasures, such as tobacco and chocolate. —Peter Winn
compare new world
Peter Winn Examples of Old World in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Lagasse sees no contradiction between Louisiana food and Old World wine.
—Noel Burgess, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
The vast majority of cases occur in China, with thousands of cases caused by Old World hantavirus strains occurring annually.
—Daniel Pastula, The Conversation, 7 May 2026
The French—and, later, Anglo (Wilde, Beardsley, Rossetti)—attitude, mannered and morbid, was perhaps too Old World, at odds with our cheerful, Protestant rapacity.
—Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 2 May 2026
This is an Old World hotel with a music theme—the buildings date from the early 18th and late 19th centuries, the curtains are thick, the settees in crushed velvet, the club chairs in leather, the color of cognac.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Apr. 2026
Many people like the classic, Old World look of a hillside covered in ivy.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 20 Apr. 2026
Native Americans were using dice for gaming long before Bronze Age societies in the Old World, according to a new Colorado State University study.
—Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 14 Apr. 2026
Those Munich molds represent some of the earliest tangible evidence of chocolate being shaped into rabbit form — physical artifacts linking Old World craftsmanship to a tradition that would eventually sweep across the Atlantic.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2026
That’s thousands of years earlier than the practice is thought to have existed anywhere in the Old World — Europe, Africa or Asia.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026
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Noel Burgess, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
The vast majority of cases occur in China, with thousands of cases caused by Old World hantavirus strains occurring annually.
—Daniel Pastula, The Conversation, 7 May 2026
The French—and, later, Anglo (Wilde, Beardsley, Rossetti)—attitude, mannered and morbid, was perhaps too Old World, at odds with our cheerful, Protestant rapacity.
—Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 2 May 2026
This is an Old World hotel with a music theme—the buildings date from the early 18th and late 19th centuries, the curtains are thick, the settees in crushed velvet, the club chairs in leather, the color of cognac.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Apr. 2026
Many people like the classic, Old World look of a hillside covered in ivy.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 20 Apr. 2026
Native Americans were using dice for gaming long before Bronze Age societies in the Old World, according to a new Colorado State University study.
—Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 14 Apr. 2026
Those Munich molds represent some of the earliest tangible evidence of chocolate being shaped into rabbit form — physical artifacts linking Old World craftsmanship to a tradition that would eventually sweep across the Atlantic.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2026
That’s thousands of years earlier than the practice is thought to have existed anywhere in the Old World — Europe, Africa or Asia.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Old World.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Old%20World. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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