The difference between Old and Small

When used as nouns, old means people who are old, whereas small means any part of something that is smaller or slimmer than the rest, now usually with anatomical reference to the back.

When used as adjectives, old means of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time. of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years. of a perishable item, having existed for most, or more than its shelf life, whereas small means not large or big.


Small is also adverb with the meaning: in a small fashion.

Small is also verb with the meaning: to make little or less.

check bellow for the other definitions of Old and Small

  1. Old as an adjective:

    Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time. Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years. Of a perishable item, having existed for most, or more than its shelf life.

    Examples:

    "an old abandoned building;  an old friend"

    "a wrinkled old man"

    "an old loaf of bread"

  2. Old as an adjective:

    Of an item that has been used and so is not new .

    Examples:

    "I find that an old toothbrush is good to clean the keyboard with."

  3. Old as an adjective:

    Having existed or lived for the specified time.

    Examples:

    "How old are they? She’s five years old and he's seven. We also have a young teen and a two-year-old child."

    "My great-grandfather lived to be a hundred and one years old."

  4. Old as an adjective:

    Of an earlier time. Former, previous. That is no longer in existence. Obsolete; out-of-date. Familiar.

    Examples:

    "My new car is not as good as my old one.  nowrap a school reunion for Old Etonians"

    "The footpath follows the route of an old railway line."

    "That is the old way of doing things; now we do it this way."

    "When he got drunk and quarrelsome they just gave him the old heave-ho."

  5. Old as an adjective:

    Tiresome.

    Examples:

    "Your constant pestering is getting old."

  6. Old as an adjective:

    Said of subdued colors, particularly reds, pinks and oranges, as if they had faded over time.

  7. Old as an adjective:

    A grammatical intensifier, often used in describing something positive. (Mostly in idioms like good old, big old and little old, any old and some old.)

    Examples:

    "We're having a good old time. nowrap My next car will be a big old SUV.  nowrap My wife makes the best little old apple pie in Texas."

  8. Old as an adjective (obsolete):

    Excessive, abundant.

  1. Old as a noun (with "the"):

    People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group.

    Examples:

    "A civilised society should always look after the old in the community."

  1. Small as an adjective:

    Not large or big; insignificant; few in number.

    Examples:

    "A small serving of ice cream."

    "A small group."

    "He made us all feel small."

  2. Small as an adjective (figuratively):

    Young, as a child.

    Examples:

    "Remember when the children were small?"

  3. Small as an adjective (writing, incomparable):

    Minuscule or lowercase, referring to written letters.

  4. Small as an adjective:

    Envincing little worth or ability; not large-minded; paltry; mean.

  5. Small as an adjective:

    Not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short.

    Examples:

    "a small space of time"

  1. Small as an adverb:

    In a small fashion.

  2. Small as an adverb:

    In or into small pieces.

  3. Small as an adverb (obsolete):

    To a small extent.

  1. Small as a noun (rare):

    Any part of something that is smaller or slimmer than the rest, now usually with anatomical reference to the back.

  1. Small as a verb (obsolete, transitive):

    To make little or less.

  2. Small as a verb (intransitive):

    To become small; to dwindle.