eldest
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eld·est
(ĕl′dĭst)adj.
Greatest in age or seniority. See Usage Note at elder1.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
eldest
(ˈɛldɪst)adj
being the oldest, esp the oldest surviving child of the same parents
[Old English eldesta, superlative of eald old]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
eld•est
(ˈɛl dɪst)adj. a superl. of old with elder as compar.
oldest; first-born; of greatest age.
[before 900; Middle English; Old English eldesta, (e)ald old]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
elder
– eldest – older – oldest1. 'elder'
The elder of two people is the one who was born first.
Posy was the elder of the two.
If you have a sister or brother who was born before you, you can refer to them as your elder sister or brother.
He had none of his elder brother's charm.
2. 'eldest'
The eldest of a group of people, especially the brothers and sisters in a family, is the one who was born first.
Gladys was the eldest of four children.
Her eldest son was killed in the First War.
3. 'older' and 'oldest'
Elder and eldest are slightly formal, and many people do not use them at all. Instead of 'elder' and 'eldest' you can use older and oldest.
He's my older brother.
Six of their children were there, including the oldest, Luke.
You can use older and oldest in some ways in which you cannot use 'elder'. For example, you can use older after be, get, or grow, and in front of than.
Try it when you are a little older.
We're all getting older.
As he grew older, his fascination with bees developed into an obsession.
Harriet was ten years older than I was.
You cannot use 'elder' in any of these ways.
You can also use older and oldest to talk about things.
On older houses there may be guarantees for treatment against woodworm.
It is the oldest of London squares.
It claims to be the oldest insurance company in the world.
You cannot use 'elder' or 'eldest' to talk about things.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. | eldest - the offspring who came first in the order of birth |
| Adj. | 1. | eldest - first in order of birth; "the firstborn child" first - preceding all others in time or space or degree; "the first house on the right"; "the first day of spring"; "his first political race"; "her first baby"; "the first time"; "the first meetings of the new party"; "the first phase of his training" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
eldest
adjective oldest, first, first-born, earliest born David was the eldest of three sons.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
الأبن الأكْبر، البِنْت الكُبْرىالأَكْبَر
nejstarší
ældst
vanhin
aînéainé
najstariji
legidõsebb
elstur
最年長の
가장 나이 많은
najstarší
najstarejši
äldst
แก่ที่สุด
en büyüğüyaşça en büyük
lớn nhất
eldest
[ˈeldɪst] ADJ [child] → mayormy eldest sister → mi hermana mayor
he's the eldest → él es el mayor
the eldest of the four → el mayor de los cuatro
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
eldest
[ˈɛldɪst] n
the eldest → l'aîné(e)
He's the eldest → C'est l'aîné.
their eldest (= eldest child) → leur aîné(e)e-learning [ˈiːlɜːrnɪŋ] n → apprentissage m en ligne
the eldest → l'aîné(e)
He's the eldest → C'est l'aîné.
their eldest (= eldest child) → leur aîné(e)e-learning [ˈiːlɜːrnɪŋ] n → apprentissage m en ligne
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
eldest
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
eldest
[ˈɛldɪst] adj → maggioremy eldest brother → il maggiore dei miei fratelli
the eldest (child) → il/la maggiore (dei bambini)
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
elder1
(ˈeldə) adjective (often of members of a family) older; senior. He has three elder sisters; He is the elder of the two.
noun1. a person who is older. Take the advice of your elders.
2. an office-bearer in Presbyterian churches.
ˈelderly adjective (rather) old. an elderly lady.
ˈeldest adjective oldest. She is the eldest of the three children.
the elderly people who are (rather) old. It is important for the elderly to take some exercise.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
eldest
→ الأَكْبَر nejstarší ældst ältester πρεσβύτερος de más edad, el de más edad vanhin aîné najstariji il maggiore 最年長の 가장 나이 많은 oudste eldst najstarszy o mais velho самый старший äldst แก่ที่สุด yaşça en büyük lớn nhất 最年长的Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
eldest
a. sup. el mayor, la mayor.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012