texts
student asking question

What's the main difference between "eldest" and "oldest?"

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

The difference is what you use each of these for! "Eldest" is used only between a group of people to determine who has the greatest age among them. Whereas "oldest" can be used with people or objects, but not to determine seniority in terms of age. Ex: He's the eldest of five siblings. Ex: Out of all the buildings in town, this one is the oldest!

Popular Q&As

04/17

Complete the expression with a quiz!

On

the

same

day

as

her

death,

the

Queen's

eldest

son,

Charles,

will

immediately

become

king.