age of consent
Americannoun
noun
-
the age at which a person is considered legally competent to consent to sexual intercourse
-
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
States like California and Colorado have recently lowered the age of consent for treatment to 12.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
However, the gap between the age of criminal responsibility and the age of consent in England and Wales is the biggest of all countries, she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2023
It has been this way since 1885 in the UK, when the age of consent was raised from 13.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2023
By the common law, if the parties themselves were of the age of consent, there wanted no other concurrence to make the marriage valid: and this was agreeable to the canon law.
From Commentaries on the Laws of England Book the First by Sir William Blackstone
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.
