1
: of earlier birth or greater age
his elder brother
2
: of or relating to earlier times : former
3
archaic
: of or relating to a more advanced time of life
4
: prior or superior in rank, office, or validity
1
: one living in an earlier period
2
a
: one who is older : senior
a child trying to please her elders
b
: an aged person
3
: one having authority by virtue of age and experience
the village elders
4
: any of various officers of religious groups: such as
b
: a permanent officer elected by a Presbyterian congregation and ordained to serve on the session and assist the pastor at communion
c
d
: a leader of the Shakers
e
: a Mormon ordained to the Melchizedek priesthood
Synonyms
Examples of elder in a Sentence
Noun (2)
in that Asian society elders are accorded great respect
as your elder in the company, he is within his rights to tell you what to do
it wouldn't hurt to show a little more respect for your elders
as the elder of the contingent of living former presidents, he was accorded a place of highest honor at the ceremonies
Recent Examples on the Web
Photographs Todd Heisler, New York Times, 19 May 2024
While his pinup-boy elder Tom Cruise commits religiously to the movie-theater experience, Reynolds hedges his bets, alternating big-screen blockbusters with disposable streaming fare like Spirited and Red Notice that keeps his beaming mug in constant rotation.
—A.a. Dowd, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
Reclaiming the Burgess land and legacy Jonathan Burgess remembers his elders’ simmering anger at how their land was taken.
—Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 16 May 2024
The public is just culturally conservative: Students (should) study, obey your elders, stay in your lane.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 13 May 2024
Yaya moves through her grief with grace, blessed to live and pass on the lesson of her elders.
—Margaret Farrell, SPIN, 10 May 2024
Younger people can tend to overdo small talk compared to their elders, Ryne Sherman, chief science officer at Hogan Assessments, a workplace personality evaluation company, tells Fortune.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 May 2024
Andrew Moroz — a lead elder at Gospel Community Church in Lynchburg, Virginia — is currently volunteering in Ukraine, helping military chaplains to recuperate from the traumas of the conflict.
—Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 9 May 2024
In Sacramento, the top allergens are oak, elder and juniper trees, according to Pollen.com.
—Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 7 May 2024
Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, 6 May 2024
Kirby Torres, 38, who has been in custody since 2020, will serve at least 20 years of that sentence before becoming eligible for consideration of elder parole, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
—Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 30 Mar. 2024
The Red Sox elder statesman had gotten to first base in the mid-June matchup, but dissatisfied, broke for second well before the Yankees pitcher started his windup.
—Varun Shankar, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2023
Because of a shortage of elder-care infrastructure and workers, many of them will face the disease with far too little support.
—Marion Renault, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2022
In 1988, Rinke's elder brother and two other pilots died when their training flight crashed just after takeoff at what was then Oakland-Pontiac Airport in Waterford.
—Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2022
In October 2021, Representative John Larsen (D–CT) introduced a comprehensive plan to save Social Security and eliminate elder poverty.
—Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2022
Noun
Three times in two days, on May 30 and 31, the police questioned Angelo Baez, at 47 a thick, graying Jungle elder with a prison record and a history of run-ins with law enforcement.
—Photographs Todd Heisler, New York Times, 19 May 2024
While his pinup-boy elder Tom Cruise commits religiously to the movie-theater experience, Reynolds hedges his bets, alternating big-screen blockbusters with disposable streaming fare like Spirited and Red Notice that keeps his beaming mug in constant rotation.
—A.a. Dowd, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
Reclaiming the Burgess land and legacy Jonathan Burgess remembers his elders’ simmering anger at how their land was taken.
—Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 16 May 2024
The public is just culturally conservative: Students (should) study, obey your elders, stay in your lane.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 13 May 2024
Yaya moves through her grief with grace, blessed to live and pass on the lesson of her elders.
—Margaret Farrell, SPIN, 10 May 2024
Younger people can tend to overdo small talk compared to their elders, Ryne Sherman, chief science officer at Hogan Assessments, a workplace personality evaluation company, tells Fortune.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 May 2024
Andrew Moroz — a lead elder at Gospel Community Church in Lynchburg, Virginia — is currently volunteering in Ukraine, helping military chaplains to recuperate from the traumas of the conflict.
—Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 9 May 2024
In Sacramento, the top allergens are oak, elder and juniper trees, according to Pollen.com.
—Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 7 May 2024
Adjective
My elder millennials will remember: Before there was Zendaya to reliably shut down the Met Gala red carpet every year, there was Sarah Jessica Parker.
—Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, 6 May 2024
Kirby Torres, 38, who has been in custody since 2020, will serve at least 20 years of that sentence before becoming eligible for consideration of elder parole, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
—Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 30 Mar. 2024
The Red Sox elder statesman had gotten to first base in the mid-June matchup, but dissatisfied, broke for second well before the Yankees pitcher started his windup.
—Varun Shankar, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2023
Because of a shortage of elder-care infrastructure and workers, many of them will face the disease with far too little support.
—Marion Renault, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2022
In 1988, Rinke's elder brother and two other pilots died when their training flight crashed just after takeoff at what was then Oakland-Pontiac Airport in Waterford.
—Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2022
In October 2021, Representative John Larsen (D–CT) introduced a comprehensive plan to save Social Security and eliminate elder poverty.
—Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'elder.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Dictionary Entries Near elder
Cite this Entry
“Elder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elder. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
elder
1 of 3 noun
el·der
ˈel-dər 
elder
2 of 3 adjective
: of greater age
the elder cousin
Etymology
Noun
Old English ellærn "elder tree"
Adjective
Old English ieldra, comparative form of eald "old"
Medical Definition
elder
noun
el·der
ˈel-dər
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