old age
"old-age" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“old age” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The latter part of life, when one is an older adult; especially, the years from age 65 onward.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | old age |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “old age” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for old age is 7 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
old age has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English olde age, eld age; compare earlier Middle English olde elde (“old age”), alderelde (“old age”), equivalent to old + age. Displaced wholly non-native Middle English vilesse (“old age”) (borrowed from Old French villesce, vieillece (“old a… The correct English form is old age, spelled O-L-D- -A-G-E.
Definition
- 1The latter part of life, when one is an older adult; especially, the years from age 65 onward.
- 2A cause of death representing natural death through the expected accumulation of health problems in advanced age.
Etymology
From Middle English olde age, eld age; compare earlier Middle English olde elde (“old age”), alderelde (“old age”), equivalent to old + age. Displaced wholly non-native Middle English vilesse (“old age”) (borrowed from Old French villesce, vieillece (“old age”)) and senectute (“old age”) (from Latin senectūs (“old age”)).
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
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Using “old age”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-L-D- -A-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.