puberty

American  

[pyoo-ber-tee] / ˈpyu bər ti /

noun

1. the period or age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction of offspring: in common law, presumed to be 14 years in the male and 12 years in the female.

---

puberty British  

/ ˈpjuːbətɪ /

noun

1. Also called: pubescence.  the period at the beginning of adolescence when the sex glands become functional and the secondary sexual characteristics emerge

---

puberty Scientific  

/ pyo̅o̅′bər-tē /

1. The stage in the development of humans and other primates marked by the development of secondary sex characteristics, including menarche in females. In humans, puberty occurs at the onset of adolescence, between the ages of about 11 and 14 in girls and 13 and 16 in boys.

---

Other Word Forms

• postpuberty adjective
• pubertal adjective

Etymology

Origin of puberty

1350–1400; Middle English puberte < Latin pūbertās adulthood, equivalent to pūber- , stem of pūbēs grown-up + -tās -ty ²

Example Sentences

He said she “received puberty-delaying medication and gender-affirming estrogen that allowed her to undergo a hormonal puberty typical of a girl.”

From Los Angeles Times

This transition — much like puberty, perhaps — won’t always feel comfortable, or even natural.

From MarketWatch

He didn’t even like seafood until puberty — “back then it was only flounder or sole for me” — but as an adult, he’s circled back to the foods of his childhood.

From Salon

Her own experience of taking puberty blockers has left her "extremely angry", she added.

From BBC

"While puberty offers a clear start, the end of adolescence is much harder to pin down scientifically. Based purely on neural architecture, we found that adolescent-like changes in brain structure end around the early thirties."

From Science Daily

Related Words

• adolescence