age of consent
Americannoun
noun
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the age at which a person is considered legally competent to consent to sexual intercourse
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the age at which a person can enter into a legally binding contract
Etymology
Origin of age of consent
First recorded in 1800–10
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.
As the documentary points out, the age of consent in California is 18.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
This was the year Japan passed landmark laws to redefine rape from "forcible sexual intercourse" to "non-consensual sexual intercourse" and raised the age of consent from 13 to 16.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2025
Norman Woods of South Dakota Family Voice Action said it doesn’t make sense to raise the age for marriage if the age of consent in South Dakota remains at 16.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2024
During a highly charged parliamentary debate on Tuesday, MP Lucy Akello questioned whether the age of consent was being lowered from the current 18 years to 15 years, the state-owned New Vision newspaper reported.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2023
The age of consent for girls was raised to 17.
From The Modern Woman's Rights Movement A Historical Survey by Kaethe Schirmacher
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.
