Phrase guide

old as the hills

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌəʊld əz‿ðə ˈhɪlz/
  • General-American: /ˌoʊld əz‿ðə ˈhɪlz/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪlz

1

adj

Meaning 1

Extremely old.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: excessive, idiomatic, not-comparable

Qualifier: simile

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: aged, age-old, ancient, old as the Pyramids, old as time, older than dirt, older than the Pyramids, antediluvian, auld, cobwebbed, cobwebby, decrepit, eld, eldern, gamol, gray, hoary, moss-grown, old, old as the hills, olden, older than the hills, venerable, wintry

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Possibly a reference to Job 15:7 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Art thou the first man that was born? Or wast thou made before the hills?”

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: vanha kuin taivas — extremely old
  • French: vieux comme le monde — extremely old
  • Galician: vello coma o mundo — extremely old
  • Hungarian: vén, mint az országút — extremely old
  • Irish: chomh sean leis an gceo — extremely old
  • Irish: chomh sean leis na cnoic — extremely old
  • Irish: chomh sean leis na clocha glasa — extremely old
  • Irish: chomh sean leis an díle — extremely old
  • Italian: vecchio come Matusalemme — extremely old
  • Italian: vecchio come il cucco — extremely old
  • Polish: stary jak świat — extremely old
  • Portuguese: mais velho que a Sé de Braga — extremely old
  • Portuguese: mais velho que o cagar em cócoras — extremely old
  • Spanish: más viejo que Matusalén — extremely old
  • Spanish: más visto que el tebeo — extremely old
  • Spanish: más viejo que mear de pie — extremely old
  • Swedish: gammal som gatan — extremely old
  • Welsh: cyn hyned â phechod — extremely old
  • Welsh: cyn hyned â Methuselah — extremely old
  • Welsh: cyn hyned â'r garreg — extremely old