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• young
  young

  adjective

  being in the first or early stage of life or growth; youthful; not old.
• Young
  Young

  noun

  Andrew (Jackson, Jr.), born 1932, U.S. clergyman, Black civil rights leader, politician, and diplomat: mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, 1981–89.

young

¹ American  

[yuhng] / jʌŋ /

adjective

• younger,
  comparative
• youngest
  superlative

1. 

   being in the first or early stage of life or growth; youthful; not old.

   a young woman.

   Synonyms:

   growing

   Antonyms:

   old, mature

2. having the appearance, freshness, vigor, or other qualities of youth.

3. of or relating to youth.

   in one's young days.

4. inexperienced or immature.

5. not far advanced in years in comparison with another or others.

6. junior, as applied to the younger of two persons having the same name.

   the young Mr. Smith.

7. 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.

8. representing or advocating recent or progressive tendencies, policies, or the like.

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noun

1. those who have youth; young persons collectively.

   the educated young of today; a game for young and old.

2. young offspring.

   a mother hen protecting her young.

idioms

1. with young, (of an animal) pregnant.

Young ² American  

[yuhng] / jʌŋ /

noun

1. Andrew (Jackson, Jr.), born 1932, U.S. clergyman, Black civil rights leader, politician, and diplomat: mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, 1981–89.

2. Art(hur Henry), 1866–1944, U.S. cartoonist and author.

3. Brigham, 1801–77, U.S. leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

4. Charles, 1864–1922, U.S. army colonel: highest-ranking Black officer in World War I.

5. Denton True Cy, 1867–1955, U.S. baseball player.

6. Edward, 1683–1765, English poet.

7. Ella, 1867–1956, Irish poet and mythologist in the U.S.

8. Lester Willis PresPrez, 1909–59, U.S. jazz tenor saxophonist.

9. Owen D., 1874–1962, U.S. lawyer, industrialist, government administrator, and financier.

10. Stark, 1881–1963, U.S. drama critic, novelist, and playwright.

11. Thomas, 1773–1829, English physician, physicist, mathematician, and Egyptologist.

12. Whitney M., Jr., 1921–71, U.S. social worker and educator: executive director of the National Urban League 1961–71.

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young ¹ British  

/ jʌŋ /

adjective

1. 1. having lived, existed, or been made or known for a relatively short time

      a young man

      a young movement

      a young country

   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the young

2. youthful or having qualities associated with youth; vigorous or lively

   she's very young for her age

3. of or relating to youth

   in my young days

4. having been established or introduced for a relatively short time

   a young member

5. in an early stage of progress or development; not far advanced

   the day was young

6. geography

   1. (of mountains) formed in the Alpine orogeny and still usually rugged in outline

   2. another term for youthful

7. (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

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noun

1. (functioning as plural) offspring, esp young animals

   a rabbit with her young

2. (of animals) pregnant

Young ² British  

/ jʌŋ /

noun

1. Brigham (ˈbrɪɡəm). 1801–77, US Mormon leader, who led the Mormon migration to Utah and founded Salt Lake City (1847)

2. Edward. 1683–1765, English poet and dramatist, noted for his Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality (1742–45)

3. Lester. 1909–59, US saxophonist and clarinetist. He was a leading early exponent of the tenor saxophone in jazz

4. 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)

5. 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

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Young Scientific  

/ yŭng /

1. British physicist and physician who is best known for his contributions to the wave theory of light and his discovery of how the lens of the human eye changes shape to focus on objects of different distances. He also studied surface tension and elasticity, and Young's modulus (a measure of the rigidity of materials) is named for him. He is also credited with the first scientific definition of the word energy.

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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

• quasi-young
  adjective
• youngish
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• younger
  comparative
• youngest
  superlative

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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

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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

See Examples For:

young Young younger youngest

The local authority said it had received national recognition for its work with the young people, many of them fleeing war or persecution.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

State health officials have reported at least eight measles-related deaths, including among very young children.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

Amid enrollment pressures driven by a shrinking student population, colleges are implementing anti-melt tactics—known as “freeze” strategies—to prevent competitors from poaching their committed students and to keep young people engaged with them throughout the year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Instead, there’s just an awful lot of tears — and young Nagatani is by far the best at sobbing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Then we were standing before a high counter and a young male clerk was saying, “Leave all personal effects at the window marked C.”

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Americold Realty Trust is returning to growth as demand for cold storage stabilizes after years of whiplash, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

One of my great shortcomings is I’m not good at writing political music, which I wish I was because I love Neil Young and Joe Strummer and Chuck D and Billie Holiday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Before attending the couple's home, Wilkins said he had sent two photos of himself, after Young said his wife requested it.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

"Young people using other platforms without an account are also unable to be protected from exposure to particular harmful content as they previously had been," its submission read.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026

I find Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes, and another book about his life, then head over to my table and start reading.

From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist

Bobby was the younger of the two, but made his Three Lions debut first.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

According to Muhlestein, many people who suffer their first heart attack, particularly younger adults, would not previously have been classified as having enough cardiovascular risk to justify statin treatment.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

Born to a British-Jamaican family in Croydon, south London, she has staged shows in offbeat venues such as alleys or climbing gyms, which could appeal to the younger clients Balenciaga hopes to attract.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

A few additional cities in Maryland, as well as cities in New Jersey and Vermont, allow people younger than 18 to cast ballots in some or all local elections.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

Screams sounded in the background—Lorren’s younger sisters fighting with their parents about going to bed.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Their two youngest have middle names for their birthplaces: Maverick Montana and Lola Dakota.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

At 33, he became the youngest senator for that legislative term.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

“Trio Élégiaque,” by 21-year-old Brady Farrar, a corps de ballet member, had the distinction of being a world premiere by the youngest choreographer to create for ABT’s main company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Just after Kimi Antonelli clinched his first title to become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were united in their assessment of his achievement.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Though Leah and Maggie remained estranged, both saw their youngest sister often, and doted on their one.year-old nephew.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

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Related Words

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