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• youth
  youth

  noun

  the condition of being young.
• Youth
  Youth

  noun

  Isle of Youth an island in the Caribbean, a special municipality in southern Cuba. 1,182 sq. mi. (3,060 sq. km).

youth

¹ American  

[yooth] / juθ /

noun

youths, plural youth plural

1. the condition of being young.

   Antonyms:

   maturity

2. the appearance, freshness, vigor, spirit, etc., characteristic of one who is young.

3. the time of being young; early life.

   His youth was spent on the farm.

   Synonyms:

   immaturity, minority

   Antonyms:

   maturity

4. the period of life from puberty to the attainment of full growth; adolescence.

5. the first or early period of anything.

   The business, even in its youth, showed great potential.

6. young persons collectively.

7. a young person, especially a young man or male adolescent.

   Synonyms:

   boy, lad, stripling, adolescent, teenager, youngster

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Youth ² American  

[yooth] / juθ /

noun

1. Isle of Youth an island in the Caribbean, a special municipality in southern Cuba. 1,182 sq. mi. (3,060 sq. km).

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youth ¹ British  

/ juːθ /

noun

1. the quality or condition of being young, immature, or inexperienced

   his youth told against him in the contest

2. the period between childhood and maturity, esp adolescence and early adulthood

3. the freshness, vigour, or vitality characteristic of young people

   youth shone out from her face

4. any period of early development

   the project was in its youth

5. a young person, esp a young man or boy

6. young people collectively

   youth everywhere is rising in revolt

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Youth ² British  

/ juːθ /

noun

1. Spanish name: Isla de la Juventud.  Former name: Isle of Pines.  an island in the NW Caribbean, south of Cuba: administratively part of Cuba from 1925. Chief town: Nueva Gerona. Pop: 80 600 (2002 est). Area: 3061 sq km (1182 sq miles)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• youthless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• youth
  plural
• youths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of youth

First recorded before 900; Middle English youthe, Old English geoguth; cognate with Dutch jeugd, German Jugend

Explanation

If you're not a little kid anymore, but you're not really an adult yet, you can describe this period of your life as your youth. You can use the noun youth in several ways — you might refer to a kid as a youth, describe the group of teenagers hanging out downtown as youth, or talk about the time in your life when you were young and carefree as your youth. In all cases, youth comes from the Old English geoguth, which is closely related to the root of young: geong.

Example Sentences

Philharmonic’s learning and community programs, including Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, the signature program launched during music director Gustavo Dudamel’s tenure to bring rigorous music education to underserved youth across Los Angeles County.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026

Lee added that in a meeting at the Vatican this week he had invited Pope Leo for a visit next year, to attend World Youth Day in Seoul.

From Barron's • Jun. 19, 2026

Youth unemployment has crept upward in recent months, and is now higher than in the eurozone.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

According to the full transcript, an expert from the government's Youth Justice Service told Southampton Crown Court that placing one of boys in custody would be damaging, given his complex intellectual impairments.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

As the Russians advanced, his Hitler Youth battalion was sent to dig trenches at the front line, now just thirty miles east of Berlin.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Related Words

• minority
• teens