Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use elder in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun, verb

Elder means closer to the dealer, i.e. receiving cards earlier than others. Example: “We were presented to the village elder.”

Examples of elder by meaning

adjectiveCloser to the dealer, i.e. receiving cards earlier than others.

  • The deal fell to Copling and the automaton therefore had the first "elder hand," with the advantage of a discard of five cards against its opponent's three.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards...

nounA leader or senior member of a tribe or community, often of considerable age, respected as an authority figure...

  • We were presented to the village elder.
  • At the friendship centre, you can arrange to meet with a social worker or an elder.
  • People saw in the elders, who were closer to death, the manifestation of the divine force that was thought to achieve its full liberation at death.1995, Julius Evola, “The Two Paths in the Afterlife”, in Guido Stucco, transl., Revolt against the Modern World, Rochester, Vermont: Inner...

nounAn old person.

  • Treating illness among society’s elders is challenging since board-certified geriatricians (physicians trained, knowledgeable and certified in treating older patients) are in short supply, here in El Paso and throughout the country.2022, Ruth Taber, “Opinion: We’ll be healthier and happier if we adjust our thinking about aging”, in El Paso Matters

nounOne who is older than another.

  • Respect your elders.

nounA clergyman authorized to administer all the sacraments.

  • a travelling elder

nounOne ordained to the lowest office in the Melchizedek priesthood.

  • After being a member of the Church for a while, Bill was ordained to the office of elder.
  • Jack had been an elder for only a few days when he received a new calling.

nounA male missionary.

  • The elders are coming over for dinner tonight.

nounTitle for a male missionary; title for a general authority.

  • One of the long-time leaders in the Church is Elder Packer.

More sentences with elder

  • She is a loud, saucy child who doesn't show a lot of respect to her elders.From the entry saucy
  • God be with the days when people had respect for their elders.From the entry God be with the days
  • In my time, we respected our elders.From the entry time
  • Show some aught to your elders, boy.From the entry aught
  • Elders should inspire children with sentiments of virtue.From the entry inspire
  • They used highly respectful language when conversing with the elders.From the entry respectful
  • So, if the issue of the elder son succeed before the younger, the crown (or: property) falls to me.From the entry succeed
  • Much forbidden by elder custom is accepted today.From the entry custom
  • The children treated their elders with deference.From the entry deference
  • My nephew is a little scamp who likes to leave lighted firecrackers under the lawnchairs of his dozing elders.From the entry scamp
  • The young pantheon had remanded their elders to the role of smouldering, chthonic gods; to inhabiting dark, deep places, hidden from mortal eyes and influence.From the entry chthonic
  • Now is a critical time for the nation’s youth to learn from their elders, she said.2021 February 21, Melissa Renwick, “Online filmmaking program introduces Hesquiaht youth to fluent speaking elders”, in Toronto Star. From the entry Hesquiaht
  • Wade-Giles, she notes, is employed by her elders, though she has been taught Hanyu Pinyin.2020 April 24, Kristen Schott, “The Language of Self-Discovery: On Jessica J. Lee’s “Two Trees Make a Forest””, in Los Angeles Review of…. From the entry Wade-Giles
  • She grew up missing a few elders, too—and contemporaries, for that matter.2020, N[ora] K[eita] Jemisin, “The Interdimensional Art Critic Dr. White”, in The City We Became (Great Cities; 1), London: Orbit, →ISBN. From the entry capisce
  • “Everything that we need is provided for us by our environment,” a W̱SÁNEĆ elder said.2020 October 26, Kate Korte and Alec Lazenby, “W̱SÁNEĆ nations hold solidarity blockade for Mi’kmaw fishers”, in The Martlet. From the entry W̱SÁNEĆ
  • Milgin says living on country, with elders, makes Aboriginal people "strong".2015 March 11, Calla Wahlquist, “Of three remote communities here, why are only the two Aboriginal ones under threat?”, in The Guardian…. From the entry country
  • Yishai, though grudgingly, recognized that the elders would not be diswayed.2013, D. Avraham, The Foundation Stone, →ISBN. From the entry disway
  • There are the usual tensions between elders and middles, and between middles and youngers.2011, Carroll Anne Sheppard, Nancy Burton Dilliplane, Congregational Connections: Uniting Six Generations in the Church, page 49. From the entry younger
  • Still, the elder Laplace wanted his son to become a clergyman.2011, Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and…. From the entry abbé
  • For basic duties, the ephors convened both the Spartan boulê of kings and elders and the assemblies.2009, Stephanie Lynn Budin, The Ancient Greeks: An Introduction, page 197. From the entry ephor
  • Even after abandoning faith for secularism, quarians continued to revere the wisdom of elders.2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Quarians: Religion Codex entry. From the entry secularism
  • When my elder brother's got his mind fixed on a mystery, there's just no scruting the man.2008, Steve Hockensmith, The Black Dove, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Minotaur, →ISBN, page 1. From the entry scrute
  • Joska's elder brother Phuro was, however, seen as the leader of his familia.2007, Ada I. Engebrigtsen, Exploring Gypsiness, page 117. From the entry familia
  • Mousefur emerged stiffly from the elders' den, guiding her blind denmate, Longtail, with her tail.2007, Hunter, Erin, The Sight. From the entry denmate
  • Elder family members give eidi (small amount of money or gifts) to children.2007, K. L. Chanchreek, Encyclopaedia of Great Festivals, page 82. From the entry eidi
  • Most of the time he lay among the shadows, left the conversation to his elders.2002, Colleen McCullough, The October Horse, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, pages 580–581. From the entry barbative
  • You are the elder, ’tis your right to be first, foolish one.2001, Dessau, Joanna, Cock robin, page 107. From the entry janglery
  • The British could identify very few ‘village elders’ in the colony.1998, Stephanie Po-yin Chung, “An Immigrant Community and its Leadership, 1841–1900”, in Chinese Business Groups in Hong Kong and…. From the entry settle
  • Tendai’s mother, father, elder brothers and sisters worked in the fields and the canning factory nearby.1997, Lakshmi Mukundan, African tales from Tendai's grandmother. From the entry Tendai

Meaning of elder

  1. adjective Closer to the dealer, i.e. receiving cards earlier than others.
  2. noun A leader or senior member of a tribe or community, often of considerable age, respected as an authority figure, especially in a counselling, consultative, or ceremonial role.
  3. noun An old person.

Full definition of elder

Questions about elder in a sentence

How do you use elder in a sentence?
Elder is used as an adjective, noun and verb. For example: “We were presented to the village elder.”
What is a short sentence with elder?
“Respect your elders.”
What does elder mean?
Elder means closer to the dealer, i.e. receiving cards earlier than others.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: elder (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use elder in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/elder. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.