the eldest

noun

used in comparing the ages of people who are members of the same family
He's the eldest of her three brothers.

Examples of the eldest in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Subsequent constitutional changes in 1990 amended the accession rules to allow for the eldest child, regardless of gender, to accede to the throne. James Frater, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026 Early life and political career Flávio Nantes Bolsonaro was born on April 30, 1981, in Resende, the eldest son of Jair Bolsonaro and his first wife, Rogéria Bolsonaro. Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026 Jake Reiner, the eldest son of the late Rob and Michele Reiner, spoke out about his parents’ deaths for the first time since his filmmaker father and photographer mother were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home. Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 27 Aug. 2026 In 2005, a government committee attempted to relax the law so that the eldest child of an emperor, regardless of gender, could inherit the throne. Séraphine Roger, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for the eldest

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“The eldest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20eldest. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster