octogenarian

noun

oc·​to·​ge·​nar·​i·​an ˌäk-tə-jə-ˈner-ē-ən How to pronounce octogenarian (audio)
: a person whose age is in the eighties
The octogenarian uses a cane for walking.
octogenarian adjective

Examples of octogenarian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
My fellow octogenarians and I are the last generation to have had immediate family members who were victims of the Holocaust. Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2025 The octogenarian hasn’t seemed to catch the theater bug yet. Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 25 Feb. 2025 This past June 27, the trim octogenarian took the spotlight. Graydon Carter, airmail.news, 6 July 2024 Among the few diners: an octogenarian and her descendants, a stressed-looking woman on a laptop. Sheila Yasmin Marikar, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for octogenarian

Word History

Etymology

Latin octogenarius containing eighty, from octogeni eighty each, from octoginta eighty, from octo eight + -ginta (akin to viginti twenty) — more at vigesimal

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of octogenarian was in 1815

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Octogenarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/octogenarian. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

octogenarian

noun
oc·​to·​ge·​nar·​i·​an ˌäk-tə-jə-ˈner-ē-ən How to pronounce octogenarian (audio)
: a person whose age is between 80 and 89

Medical Definition

octogenarian

noun
oc·​to·​ge·​nar·​i·​an ˌäk-tə-jə-ˈner-ē-ən How to pronounce octogenarian (audio)
: a person whose age is in the eighties
octogenarian adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on octogenarian

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