old country

noun

often capitalized O&C
: an emigrant's country of origin
especially : one in Europe
usually used with the

Examples of old country in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In her lead debut, Reese Witherspoon's niece, Abby James Witherspoon, plays Izzy, a young girl unhappy about her family's move from the bustling city to a sleepy old country farm. Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2023 What a great person to do that for an old country, average person like me. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 9 Feb. 2023 The founders latched on to Harris not only because of his skill at running with a football, but because his mother was from the old country. Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2022 My Grandma immigrated from the old country: now Croatia. Terry Pluto, cleveland, 1 Jan. 2023 In those years, Grief had become a peculiar relation from the old country, one who kept apart and spoke another language. Kathy Flann, Washington Post, 8 Dec. 2022 For decades, The Venetian became a social hub for local Italian-Americans and others who wanted authentic food from the old country. Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 21 Nov. 2022 Go holiday shopping in the old country, sample dark ales, listen to princesses or a jazz artist sing and pick out a Christmas tree or ornaments. John Coffren, Baltimore Sun, 24 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'old country.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1751, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of old country was in 1751

Dictionary Entries Near old country

Cite this Entry

“Old country.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/old%20country. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

old country

noun
: the country that a person has emigrated from

More from Merriam-Webster on old country

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