on in years

comparative more on in years · superlative most on in years

1. euphemisticidiomaticmildlynot comparableusuallyOld; advanced in age.

   More years went by, and his wife was dead, and he well on in years.

   1893, William Butler Yeats, “An Enduring Heart”, in The Celtic Twilight

   4 more examples

   Being rather young at present—I am getting on in years, but still I am rather young—I have no particular adventures of my own to fall back upon.

   1853, Charles Dickens, The Schoolboy's Story

   I am getting on in years; and my partner Lazarus has at last made a stand and insisted that the succession must be settled.

   1905, George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara, act 3

   [O]ld as I am,—I do not mean aged, but well on in years,—I believe in love still.

   1909, F. Marion Crawford, chapter 20, in A Roman Singer

   Brittle bones can be more than just a bother for anyone who is getting on in years.

   2004 May 24, Alice Park, “Health: Old Bones, New Hope”, in Time

   Synonyms: elderly