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.
The 2023 reforms to Japan's sex crime laws also expanded the definition of rape and raised the age of consent from 13 to 16.
From BBC • Jun. 26, 2025
New York judge William Thompson Howell wrote 500 pages that spanned provisions on dueling, accidental homicides by ax and age of consent that would govern the newly formed territory of fewer than 7,000 people.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 14, 2024
States like California and Colorado have recently lowered the age of consent for treatment to 12.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2024
For gay and bisexual men, the age of consent was reduced from 18 to 16 in a law change in 2000, after a long campaign for equality.
From BBC • Sep. 23, 2023
A woman's club, the Arena, had been instrumental in obtaining the first "age of consent" legislation, but a Unitarian minister had entirely managed the Legislature.
From The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume VI by Harper, Ida Husted
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.
