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Glite Dictionary
past its prime

past its prime

2 5.2
No longer at its best or in good condition
  • idiom
translation icon : fuera de su mejor momento
  • The 2012 version of Andy Roddick is well past his prime and has been a model of inconsistency for the last two years.
  • well past its prime
  • years past its prime
  • man past his prime

In fact, he was sent to formal training for suggesting she was past her prime.

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Examples

  • It's about a stand up comedian who is past her prime, allegedly.

  • Many critics argue that the once-popular television show is past its prime, failing to attract a new audience.

  • Once it's past its prime, it's not good to anybody.

    Blog text (12)

  • We all know this podcast is long past its prime and it's set to face plant any minute.

  • And you know, is this program really past its prime and is it really achieving what we want it to?

  • It's a widely hated program that is long past its prime.

    Blog text (34)

  • It was six stories tall and a few years past its prime.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The biggest reason Brown is so underrated is that his Yankee years were when he was hurt and past his prime.

    Blog text (33)

  • Joe Pa was past his prime and was only a figurehead at PSU the last decade.

    Blog text (4)

  • They have a point guard who is clearly far past his prime, an aging but still potent Kobe, but one who does not defend anywhere near how he used to, and a big baby man-child in the middle, who may or may not get with the program.

    Blog text (13)

Synonyms

out-of-date
vspast its prime
34 4.4

No longer current or in use

is loss of peak condition rather than mere outdatedness in time
worn-out
vspast its prime
20 3.1

An object too old or damaged from heavy use to be useful

is a general loss of peak quality rather than physical damage
over-the-hill
vspast its prime
  • Offensive
5 7.9

Too old to be as useful or attractive as before

is about loss of peak ability rather than social judgment about age
superannuated
vspast its prime
  • UK
1 9.9

Old and no longer useful because of age

is general decline in quality not necessarily formal retirement
overworn
vspast its prime
6.2

Used so much that it looks old or no longer works well

is reduced effectiveness generally rather than only from repeated use
overmature
vspast its prime
6.8

Past the best time to eat or use, so it is less good

is loss of best condition in general rather than specifically maturity

Antonyms

at its peak
15 3.3

Something is at its strongest, most successful, or most intense

How Old

broken
31 1.0
worn out
23 2.9
past its prime
2 5.2
new
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

past its prime positive

Morphology

past + its + prime

The meaning 'no longer at its best' is directly compositional from 'past' (beyond), 'its' (possessive), and 'prime' (the period of peak quality), so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer the phrase. This is a common, literal pattern (beyond + peak) found across languages, making it immediately understandable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Past its prime uses the simple image of prime as the best, freshest time of something. Like a fruit at its prime—perfect and ripe—when it goes past that time it becomes old or weak, so past its prime means 'no longer at its best'.