Word.ws English Dictionary

for the ages

for the ages adjective: especially memorable and noteworthy; deserving to endure for a very long time.

Adjective

for the ages (not comparable)

  1. (idiomatic) Especially memorable and noteworthy; deserving to endure for a very long time.
    • The comparison may seem unfair to Churchill now that he is a man for the ages by reason of his glorious bravado when the world, including Hitler, knew that his heart was heavy with dread.1953 October 28, Westbrook Pegler, “Fair Enough”, in Palm Beach Post, retrieved 12 Sep 2013
    • It wasn't a speech for the ages. It was barely a speech for the evening.1968 January 23, James J. Kilpatrick, “A Speech For The Evening”, in Evening Independent, retrieved 12 Sep 2013

Adverb

for the ages (not comparable)

  1. (idiomatic) In a manner that produces long-lasting effects; for posterity; for a very long duration.
    • Little did Mr. Quiney think, when he wrote that letter, that he was writing for the ages.1916, Elbert Hubbard, “William Shakespeare”, in Little Journeys Vol. 1: Good Men and Great
    • Some men build hastily and quickly so that their work serves only its transient purpose, and is soon forgotten. Others build for the ages.1947 Feb. 28, "Quality Endures" (advertisement), Ellensburg Daily Record, p. 3 (retrieved 12 Sept 2013)

Examples of for the ages in a sentence

  • Centenarian George Abbott's revival with attitude makes a '50s baseball musical one for the ages.1994 March 14, William A. Henry III, “Theater: Damn Yankees Is Back At Bat”, in Time, retrieved 12 Sep 2013:
  • [T]his year’s Fashion Week is turning out to be a weeklong party for the ages, with so many events, hardly anyone can keep them straight.2013 September 6, Jacob Bernstein, “No Sleep for the Wicked”, in New York Times, retrieved 12 Sep 2013:
  • It was a clash for the ages as the battling All Blacks were full value for their effort.2023 October 28, Leighton Koopman, “YES!!! The Springboks beat the All Blacks to win another Rugby World Cup title”, in Independent Online:
  • For us, surely, it would be a story for the ages.2026 June 24, Lucy Mangan, “Poop Cruise review – a fascinating look at a toilet disaster that still haunts passengers 12 years later”, in...

Questions about for the ages

What does for the ages mean?
For the ages means especially memorable and noteworthy; deserving to endure for a very long time.
How do you use for the ages in a sentence?
Centenarian George Abbott's revival with attitude makes a '50s baseball musical one for the ages.
What part of speech is for the ages?
For the ages can be an adjective or an adverb.

Words near for the ages in the dictionary

  1. for starters
  2. for sure
  3. for that
  4. for that manner
  5. for that matter
  6. for the ages
  7. for the asking
  8. for the best
  9. for the better
  10. for the birds
  11. for the book

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: for the ages (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-for the ages.ogg.

Cite this entry: “for the ages.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/for_the_ages. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.