Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

old hat

/ˌoʊl(d)ˈhæt/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.51 in modern English

Syllables: old hat
IPA: /ˌoʊl(d)ˈhæt/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Something regarded as very familiar and unoriginal, hackneyed, or out of date.

Uncountable

adj

Very familiar and unoriginal; common, hackneyed, out of date.

noun

The female genitalia.

Archaic; Countable; Slang

noun

A woman treated as a sexual partner.

Archaic; Countable; Derogatory; Slang

noun

Sexual intercourse.

Archaic; Slang; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Oliver. What was the address about, to begin with? / Willie. Oh, the same old hat—Freedom."
"We curved through the bright mile or two of the Strip, […] past the Georgian-Colonial vogue, now old hat, past the handsome modernistic buildings in which the Hollywood flesh-peddlers never stop talking money, […]"
"[Noël] Coward is such an old hand at this kind of thing that he makes it seem old hat."
"In fact, monorails are rather old hat."
"[I]t is old hat for a sex scandal to bring down a politician."
"As for the greeting she [Elizabeth II] and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, received when they arrived outside the Capitol about 3:30 p.m. – well, based on the size of the crowd, perhaps the queen is old hat."

Etymology

From old + hat, possibly a reference to something familiar and well-used. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests a connection to German alter Hut (“something familiar and hackneyed”, noun, literally “old hat”).

Word Breakdown

Root: *h₂el-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌoʊl(d)ˈhæt/
British English: /ˌəʊl(d)ˈhæt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more old hat (comparative) most old hat (superlative) old-hat (alternative) old hats (plural)

Synonyms

banal commonplace cliché démodé passé unchic basic cheugy cringe cringey cringeworthy dated

Rhymes With

that at fat cat big cat flat sat chat combat matt hat bat

Questions

How do you pronounce old hat?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌoʊl(d)ˈhæt/.
What does old hat mean?: Something regarded as very familiar and unoriginal, hackneyed, or out of date.
Where does old hat come from?: From old + hat, possibly a reference to something familiar and well-used. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests a connection to German alter Hut (“something familiar and hackneyed”, noun, literally “old hat”).

How to pronounce old hat

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “old hat”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌoʊl(d)ˈhæt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “old hat”.
Repeat and practice — Say “old hat” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.