adulthood

American  

[uh-duhlt-hood] / əˈdʌlt hʊd /

noun

1. the state or period of being fully grown, fully developed, or of age.

   My mother raised four children to adulthood.

---

Etymology

Origin of adulthood

adult ( def. ) + -hood ( def. )

Explanation

When you stop growing and start shaving, you are in adulthood — a point where you reach maturity. Unfortunately, physical adulthood does not necessarily imply that psychological adulthood is present. Adulthood implies a maturity of sorts, whether it be physical or psychological. In many cultures, adulthood is marked with a “coming of age” ritual. In Judaism for example, adulthood is marked by the Bat Mitzvah for girls (age 12) and the Bar Mitzvah for boys (age 13) — in which the girl or boy is considered to have reached adulthood within the community.

Example Sentences

One of the greatest lessons of adulthood took place in the quiet confines of my apartment kitchen.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026

The stores sell dresses for proms, special occasions and quinceañeras, a Latin American rite of passage celebrating a young girl’s 15th birthday and her transition to adulthood.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026

If the timing system that controls development fails, an organism may never progress through the stages needed to reach adulthood.

From Science Daily • Jun. 4, 2026

Season three picks up half a decade after the characters left high school, following them into a far darker and more fractured version of adulthood.

From BBC • May 30, 2026

I should like to be a doctor poet, I think, if I happen to survive to adulthood.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• boldness
• bravery
• courage
• fortitude
• masculinity
• mettle
• nobility
• potency
• virility