as in veterans
a person with long experience in a specified area
with 25 years on the job, Vinnie was the old hand everyone went to with their problems
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Recent Examples of old hands
On the television side, however, the winning series for excellence in period, sci-fi/fantasy, and contemporary costumes were all old hands.
—
Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 12 Feb. 2026
And the old hands who know their way around the Washington labyrinth mostly see the Tech Hamiltonians as a menace to be thwarted, and so use their talent and knowledge to work against rather than for the new regime.
—Walter Russell Mead, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2026
Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 12 Feb. 2026
And the old hands who know their way around the Washington labyrinth mostly see the Tech Hamiltonians as a menace to be thwarted, and so use their talent and knowledge to work against rather than for the new regime.
—Walter Russell Mead, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for old hands
veterans
Noun
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Verbeek and coach Joel Quenneville’s defense corps now features three veterans on the right side and a younger mix, with LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger, on the left.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
7 Mar. 2026
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Some senior veterans on Long Island are travelling the world again without leaving their nursing home.—
Carolyn Gusoff,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Old hands.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/old%20hands. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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