old-timer

/ˌəʊld ˈtaɪmə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌəʊld ˈtaɪmər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈōl(d)-ˈtī-mər -ˌtī-mər/ (ame, mw)

old-timer — noun

1. someone who has spent many years in a particular job, club, or town and is there

1.名詞C1
釋義

someone who has spent many years in a particular job, club, or town and is therefore well known to others there; the word can also describe an elderly man, often with a friendly or affectionate tone.

例句

Mr. Chen is an old-timer at the factory and remembers when it opened in 1972.

an old-timer at + place, signalling long service

The fishing club's old-timers gathered on Saturday to share stories with new members.

plural use for a group of long-standing members

同義詞
  • veteran

    more neutral and slightly more formal; emphasises experience over age

  • regular

    someone seen often at a place, but not necessarily for many years

  • elder

    respectful term focused on age and authority within a community

反義詞
  • newcomer

    someone who has just arrived in a place or group

  • rookie

    informal; a person new to a job, sport, or activity

文法句型

an old-timer at [place / activity]

用法筆記

Often appears with 'at' plus a place or activity ('old-timer at the mill', 'old-timer at chess'). Common in plural to mean a group of long-standing insiders. The 'elderly man' reading is usually clear from context — a porch, a walking stick, grey hair — rather than from grammar.

常見錯誤

❌She is an old-timer woman.
✅She is an old woman.
💡'old-timer' is a noun on its own, not an adjective placed before another noun.
❌He is old-timer here.
✅He is an old-timer here.
💡countable noun, so it needs 'a' or 'an'.