young
adjective
being in the first or early stage of life or growth; youthful; not old.
young
1 American
[yuhng]
/ jʌŋ /
adjective
-
younger,
comparative
-
youngest
superlative
-
being in the first or early stage of life or growth; youthful; not old.
a young woman.
- Synonyms:
- growing
-
having the appearance, freshness, vigor, or other qualities of youth.
-
of or relating to youth.
in one's young days.
-
inexperienced or immature.
-
not far advanced in years in comparison with another or others.
-
junior, as applied to the younger of two persons having the same name.
the young Mr. Smith.
-
being in an early stage generally, as of existence, progress, operation, development, or maturity; new; early.
a young wine; It is a young company, not yet firmly established.
-
representing or advocating recent or progressive tendencies, policies, or the like.
noun
-
those who have youth; young persons collectively.
the educated young of today; a game for young and old.
-
young offspring.
a mother hen protecting her young.
idioms
Young
2
American
[yuhng]
/ jʌŋ /
noun
-
Andrew (Jackson, Jr.), born 1932, U.S. clergyman, Black civil rights leader, politician, and diplomat: mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, 1981–89.
-
Art(hur Henry), 1866–1944, U.S. cartoonist and author.
-
Brigham, 1801–77, U.S. leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
-
Charles, 1864–1922, U.S. army colonel: highest-ranking Black officer in World War I.
-
Denton True Cy, 1867–1955, U.S. baseball player.
-
Edward, 1683–1765, English poet.
-
Ella, 1867–1956, Irish poet and mythologist in the U.S.
-
Lester Willis PresPrez, 1909–59, U.S. jazz tenor saxophonist.
-
Owen D., 1874–1962, U.S. lawyer, industrialist, government administrator, and financier.
-
Stark, 1881–1963, U.S. drama critic, novelist, and playwright.
-
Thomas, 1773–1829, English physician, physicist, mathematician, and Egyptologist.
-
Whitney M., Jr., 1921–71, U.S. social worker and educator: executive director of the National Urban League 1961–71.
Young
1
British
/ jʌŋ /
noun
-
Brigham (ˈbrɪɡəm). 1801–77, US Mormon leader, who led the Mormon migration to Utah and founded Salt Lake City (1847)
-
Edward. 1683–1765, English poet and dramatist, noted for his Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality (1742–45)
-
Lester. 1909–59, US saxophonist and clarinetist. He was a leading early exponent of the tenor saxophone in jazz
-
Neil ( Percival ). born 1945, Canadian rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His albums include Harvest (1972), Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Ragged Glory (1990), and Prairie Wind (2005)
-
Thomas. 1773–1829, English physicist, physician, and Egyptologist. He helped to establish the wave theory of light by his experiments on optical interference and assisted in the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone
young
2
British
/ jʌŋ /
adjective
-
-
having lived, existed, or been made or known for a relatively short time
a young man
a young movement
a young country
-
( as collective noun; preceded by the )
the young
-
-
youthful or having qualities associated with youth; vigorous or lively
she's very young for her age
-
of or relating to youth
in my young days
-
having been established or introduced for a relatively short time
a young member
-
in an early stage of progress or development; not far advanced
the day was young
-
geography
-
(of mountains) formed in the Alpine orogeny and still usually rugged in outline
-
another term for youthful
-
-
(often capital) of or relating to a rejuvenated group or movement or one claiming to represent the younger members of the population, esp one adhering to a political ideology
Young England
Young Socialists
noun
-
(functioning as plural) offspring, esp young animals
a rabbit with her young
-
(of animals) pregnant
Young
Scientific
/ yŭng /
Synonym Usage
Young, youthful, juvenile all refer to lack of age. Young is the general word for that which is undeveloped, immature, and in process of growth: a young colt, child; young shoots of wheat. Youthful has connotations suggesting the favorable characteristics of youth, such as vigor, enthusiasm, and hopefulness: youthful sports, energy, outlook. Juvenile may suggest less desirable characteristics, such as childishness, petulance, idleness, selfishness, or heedlessness ( juvenile behavior ), or it may refer simply to the years, up to the later teens, before legal responsibility: juvenile delinquency; juvenile court; juvenile books.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of young
First recorded before 900; Middle English yong(e), Old English geong; cognate with Dutch jong, German jung, Old Norse ungr, Gothic jungs; akin to Latin juvenis
Explanation
Use the adjective young to describe a person who hasn't been alive very long or doesn't have much life experience. You might feel much wiser and more sophisticated than your young cousins — even if you secretly enjoy playing games with them. As a noun, young generally means "animal babies," like when a mother duck and her young cross the street, though it can also refer collectively to young people: "The young recover so quickly from being sick." When you describe someone as young, you typically mean that they're immature, youthful, or simply not as old as you might expect: "Kids are getting phones so young these days!"
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I think young people should focus on the microscale - rather than running for office, helping build communities and connecting with people and then building up to the top," she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
There’s an alternate universe where Taylor Tomlinson is a young adult fantasy author holed up in a cabin miles from civilization.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Do these tough rental markets explain the increase in young adults living with their parents?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
"As young people, we have to enter the parliament so by 2031 we have strong young politicians who can compete for a seat in the government."
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
This method of lightning search and seizure was called the razzia, and every family with young men lived in dread of it.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Young people the BBC spoke to who have struggled with their mental health say it is important the government acts on the findings of Fonagy's report when it comes out.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Charity Young Lives vs Cancer says families of children with cancer face average extra costs of around £700 a month, and an average loss of income of about £6,000 per household.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Young people took turns on the ramps outside Neighbors Skate Shop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Young Marian began singing in her church’s junior choir at the age of 6.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Young Ju, do you like your curly hair?
From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na
“It wasn’t just about him collecting it,” said Wolfe’s younger son, Russell Wolfe, 32.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
During the Obama years, the state was becoming younger, more concentrated around metropolitan areas, more diverse, and more white-collar.
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2026
A tour of a neighborhood near Seattle shows how a younger generation is making it work in one of the least affordable housing markets in decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
"She used to get us in trouble with my dad when we were younger," she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Or were you younger then, and happy to spend time doing whatever your dad wanted to do?
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Avelar’s youngest daughter has an eating disorder and is trying to gain weight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Astronomers have confirmed the youngest known planet yet, a world less than 1 million years old that is still surrounded by the gas and dust from which it formed.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
The 15-year-old striker appeared set to become the youngest person to play in an official game with United’s first team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
That will probably deny him the opportunity to break up the stat that the three youngest players to score in the League Cup for a Premier League side all did so for Arsenal.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
“One day, when they were discussing the problem, the youngest boy, who was called Useless, said, ‘Don’t you remember?
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
