student asking question

What does “getting up there” mean? What does "there" refer to here? and how to use this kind of expression?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Getting up there [in age]" is the full expression, and it is used informally to say nicely that someone is getting older in age. You can imagine the "up there" to be an age or number that is increasing steadily. Ex: My dog is getting up there (in age) but she's still full of energy. Ex: She's getting up there but nothing stops her from living her life.

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