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Meaning & use

golden years

noun·Everydayfigurative

Last updated

UK/ˌɡəʊl.dən ˈjɪəz/
US/ˌɡoʊl.dən ˈjɪrz/

Meanings

  1. nounpluralfigurative

    The later part of someone's life, after they stop working, thought of as a pleasant and rewarding time.

    Grammar: Always plural and often used with a possessive: their golden years.

    Patterns

    • enjoy your golden years
    • in your golden years

    My grandparents are enjoying their golden years by traveling the world.

    He saved carefully so that he could spend his golden years in comfort.

    The community offers activities for people in their golden years.

  2. nounpluralfigurative

    A time in the past when something such as a team, a business, or an art form was at its most successful.

    Grammar: Used with the possessive or the name of the group: the club's golden years.

    Patterns

    • the golden years of something

    The golden years of the studio produced a string of famous musicals.

    Fans still remember the golden years of the 1990s team.

    Jazz had its golden years in that city during the fifties.

Common combinations

enjoy your golden years
She plans to enjoy her golden years in a small seaside village.
in the golden years
In their golden years, they took up painting.
spend your golden years
They spent their golden years traveling by train.
the golden years of cinema
The golden years of cinema produced many classic films.
golden years of retirement
The golden years of retirement can be less comfortable than the brochures suggest.

Synonyms and how they differ

retirement
Retirement names a stage of life or the act of leaving work, while golden years adds a warm, idealized feeling.
twilight years
Twilight years is gentler and slightly sadder, suggesting the end of life approaches.
old age
Old age is a neutral, factual term and lacks the positive image.
heyday
Heyday refers to the peak of something, a close match for the second sense.

Opposites

youthprime

Word family

golden adjective
made of gold or very good, valuable
golden age noun
a period of great success
golden handshake noun
a large payment given to someone leaving a job
golden anniversary noun
a fiftieth anniversary

Commonly confused: golden years or golden age?

golden years vs golden age

Golden age usually refers to a successful period of a culture or activity, not the later years of one person's life.

Practice

After forty years of teaching, Mr. Lopez is enjoying his ____ on a quiet farm.

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