maturation

[ mach-uh-rey-shuhn ]
See synonyms for maturation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the process of becoming mature, ripe, fully aged or developed, etc.: Maturation of the wine takes place in high-quality oak barrels.Making and breaking relationships is part of a young person’s normal maturation.

  2. Cell Biology.

    • the end of the process by which cells or tissues change from relatively generalized to highly specialized: The maturation of pancreatic beta cells enables them to respond with specialized accuracy to glucose levels.

    • the transformation of an immature egg or sperm cell into a gamete ready to unite with another to form a new organism, especially the part of the process that occurs after meiosis: In some species, if the animal is starving, egg cell maturation is blocked so that reproduction cannot take place.

  1. Pathology. the stage at which a wound, boil, etc., produces pus; suppuration.

Origin of maturation

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: “suppuration,” from Medieval Latin mātūrātiōn-, stem of mātūrātiō; equivalent to maturate + -ion

Other words from maturation

  • mat·u·ra·tion·al, adjective
  • non·mat·u·ra·tion, noun

Words Nearby maturation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use maturation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for maturation

maturation

/ (ˌmætjʊˈreɪʃən, ˌmætʃʊ-) /


noun
  1. the process of maturing or ripening

  2. zoology the development of ova and spermatozoa from precursor cells in the ovary and testis, involving meiosis

  1. a less common word for suppuration

Derived forms of maturation

  • maturational, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012