Collocations with Age in English: Meanings and Example Sentences

If you want to sound more natural in English, learning collocations is essential. In this lesson, you will learn common collocations with age in English, including everyday expressions like for ages and act your age, as well as more formal phrases such as working age and retirement age.

1. For ages

Meaning: for a very long time. This is a very common informal expression in spoken English.

Examples:

• It took us ages to get out of the traffic.
• I haven’t seen Lara for ages. I wonder how she’s doing.
• We waited for ages, but the bus never came.

Note:

You will often hear:

• I haven’t done that for ages.
• It’s taking ages.

2. Look your age

Meaning: to appear as old as you really are. This expression is often used when talking about someone’s appearance.

Examples:

• You don’t look your age at all with that youthful hairstyle.
• He is nearly sixty, but he certainly doesn’t look his age.
• She has always looked younger than her age.

Note:

This expression is usually used in a positive way, especially when someone looks younger than expected.

3. Act your age

Meaning: to behave in a way that is suitable for your age. We often say this when someone is being childish or immature.

Examples:

• Don’t be so silly — act your age!
• He’s old enough to know better, so he should start acting his age.
• You can still have fun without behaving badly. Just act your age.

Note:

This expression can sound critical, so be careful when using it.

4. Young age

Meaning: a time when someone is very young

Examples:

• She learned to play the piano at a very young age.
• At a young age, children absorb languages more easily.
• He developed a love of books at a remarkably young age.

Common pattern:

• at a young age

5. Old age

Meaning: the later period of a person’s life

Examples:

• Good health becomes especially important in old age.
• Many people fear loneliness in old age.
• Grey hair is often seen as a sign of old age, though of course that is not always true.

Common pattern:

• in old age

6. Modern age

Meaning: modern times; the present era

Examples:

• We are living in the modern age, where technology influences almost every part of life.
• In the modern age, communication is faster than ever before.
• Some traditions have struggled to survive in the modern age.

Note:

This expression often appears in discussions about technology, society, education, and culture.

7. Early age

Meaning: the time when someone is very young

Examples:

• Novak Djokovic started playing tennis at an early age.
• Children who read from an early age often develop stronger language skills.
• She knew from an early age that she wanted to become a doctor.

Common pattern:

• from an early age
• at an early age

Note:

This collocation is very common and useful in biographies and personal stories.

8. Middle-aged man / middle-aged woman

Meaning:

a person who is approximately in their forties or fifties

Examples:

• A middle-aged man was sitting alone by the window, reading a newspaper.
• The company is run by a confident middle-aged woman with years of experience.
• More and more middle-aged people are changing careers later in life.

Note:

You can also use:

• middle-aged people
• a middle-aged couple

Be careful with tone, though. In some situations, middle-aged can sound rather direct.

9. Working age

Meaning: old enough to work, or within the age range when people normally work

Examples:

• In most countries, people of working age are expected to be either employed or looking for work.
• The government introduced new policies affecting adults of working age.
• You must be of working age to apply for that position.

Common pattern:

• of working age

Note:

This is more common in formal, official, or economic contexts.

10. Reading age

Meaning: the level of reading ability that is typical of a child of a particular age

Examples:

• Although he is ten, his reading age is closer to that of an eight-year-old.
• Teachers often assess a child’s reading age to understand their progress better.
• Her reading age improved significantly after a few months of regular practice.

Note:

This is a useful expression in education and language learning contexts.

11. Bygone age

Meaning: a time in the distant past; an earlier historical period that no longer exists

Examples:

• The old castle seemed to belong to a bygone age.
• Watching the film transported him to a bygone age of war, hardship, and sacrifice.
• The furniture in the house came from a bygone age.

Note:

This expression is slightly literary and more formal than some of the others.

12. Age group

Meaning: a group of people who are of a similar age

Examples:

• This course is suitable for all age groups.
• Children in the 10–12 age group performed especially well in the competition.
• Social media is popular across almost every age group now.

13. Age limit

Meaning: the youngest or oldest age allowed for something

Examples:

• There is no age limit for learning a foreign language.
• The competition has an upper age limit of eighteen.
• You must check the age limit before applying for the course.

14. School age

Meaning: old enough to go to school

Examples:

• Most children of school age need a regular daily routine.
• By the time they reach school age, many children can already recognise letters and numbers.
• The charity provides support for children of school age.

15. Legal age

Meaning: the age at which someone is legally allowed to do something

Examples:

• In many countries, eighteen is the legal age for voting.
• She is now of legal age and can make her own decisions.
• The legal age for driving varies from country to country.

16. Retirement age

Meaning: the age at which people normally stop working

Examples:

• Many people worry about their finances as they approach retirement age.
• The government has raised the retirement age in recent years.
• He reached retirement age but decided to keep working.

17. Golden age

Meaning: a period of great success, happiness, or achievement

Examples:

• Many people consider the 1960s the golden age of cinema.
• The city enjoyed a golden age of trade and prosperity.
• Some believe we are entering a new golden age of technology.

18. Stone Age / Bronze Age / Iron Age

Meaning: historical periods from the distant past

Examples:

• People in the Stone Age used simple tools made of stone.
• The museum has an exhibition on the Bronze Age.
• Historians study how communities changed during the Iron Age.

Note:

These are fixed historical collocations and are very common in educational contexts.

19. Digital age

Meaning: the period of modern life shaped by computers, the internet, and digital technology

Examples:

• In the digital age, people can work from almost anywhere.
• Privacy has become a major concern in the digital age.
• Teaching methods are changing rapidly in the digital age.

20. Come of age

Meaning: to reach adulthood; also used figuratively to mean becoming fully developed or mature

Examples:

• In many cultures, certain ceremonies mark the moment when young people come of age.
• He truly came of age during his years at university.
• Online learning has come of age in recent years.

Note:

This is a very useful expression because it can be both literal and figurative.

Why learn collocations with age?

Learning collocations helps you sound more natural in English, remember vocabulary more easily, understand native speakers better and improve your writing and speaking.

Instead of learning only the word age, it is much more useful to learn natural chunks such as:

• for ages
• act your age
• at a young age
• from an early age
• old age
• working age
• reading age
• golden age
• digital age

That is how real vocabulary grows.

Final thoughts

The word age is part of many useful English collocations, and these expressions can help you speak more naturally and confidently. Some of them, such as for ages and act your age, are very common in everyday conversation. Others, such as working age, reading age, and digital age, are especially useful in formal or educational contexts.

Try to learn these collocations as complete expressions rather than single words. Write your own example sentences and use them in real contexts whenever you can.

Little by little, your English will begin to sound more natural — which, at any age, is a very fine thing.

Related posts:

Collocations with FOLLOW

Expressions with ONE in English

How to Master English with ChatGPT

Idiomatic English for Writing and Speaking

Visit our bookshop for more