mature
Americanadjective
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complete in natural growth or development, as plant and animal forms.
a mature rose bush.
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ripe, as fruit, or fully aged, as cheese or wine.
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fully developed in body or mind, as a person.
She was a mature woman who took her family responsibilities seriously.
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noting or pertaining to an adult who is middle-aged or older (used euphemistically).
discrimination against mature applicants.
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pertaining to or characteristic of full development.
a mature appearance; fruit with a mature softness.
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completed, perfected, or elaborated in full by the mind.
mature plans.
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(of an industry, technology, market, etc.) no longer developing or expanding; having little or no potential for further growth or expansion; exhausted or saturated.
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intended for or restricted to adults, especially by reason of explicit sexual content or the inclusion of violence or obscene language.
mature movies.
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composed of adults, considered as being less susceptible than minors to explicit sexual content, violence, or obscene language, as of a film or stage performance.
for mature audiences only.
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Finance. having reached the limit of its time; having become payable or due.
a mature bond.
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Medicine/Medical.
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having attained definitive form or function, as by maturation of an epithelium from a basal layer.
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having attained the end stage of a normal or abnormal biological process.
a mature boil.
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Geology. (of a landscape) exhibiting the stage of maximum topographical diversity, as in the cycle of erosion of a land surface.
verb (used with object)
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matures,
present (3rd person singular)
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matured,
past participle, past
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maturing
present participle
adjective
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relatively advanced physically, mentally, emotionally, etc; grown-up
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(of plans, theories, etc) fully considered; perfected
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due or payable
a mature debenture
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biology
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fully developed or differentiated
a mature cell
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fully grown; adult
a mature animal
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(of fruit, wine, cheese, etc) ripe or fully aged
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(of a river valley or land surface) in the middle stage of the cycle of erosion, characterized by meanders, maximum relief, etc See also youthful old
verb
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to make or become mature
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(intr) (of notes, bonds, etc) to become due for payment or repayment
Usage
What does mature mean? If a person is mature, they act grown-up. If an animal is mature, it has reached adulthood. If a fruit is mature, it’s ripe. If a game or movie is intended for a mature audience, it means it’s for adults because it’s inappropriate for kids. Mature has many meanings in addition to the common ones above. It is most commonly used as an adjective, but it can also be a verb meaning to become mature or to make mature. Example: Some of my students are very mature and responsible, but the rest of them act like preschoolers.
Synonym Usage
See ripe.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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maturementnoun
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maturenessnoun
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maturernoun
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nonmaturenessnoun
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overmaturenessnoun
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semimaturenessnoun
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half-maturedadjective
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nonmatureadjective
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overmatureadjective
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self-maturedadjective
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semimatureadjective
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unmatureadjective
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unmaturedadjective
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unmaturingadjective
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well-maturedadjective
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maturelyadverb
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nonmaturelyadverb
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overmaturelyadverb
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semimaturelyadverb
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unmaturelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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maturesimple
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maturessimple
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have maturedperfect
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has maturedperfect
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am maturingprogressive
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are maturingprogressive
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is maturingprogressive
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have been maturingperfect progressive
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has been maturingperfect progressive
Past
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maturedsimple
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had maturedperfect
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was maturingprogressive
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were maturingprogressive
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had been maturingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mature
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin mātūrus “ripe, timely, early”; akin to manes, matutinal
Explanation
Someone who is mature acts grown up, like an adult. However, when one sister says to another, "That's so mature," she's usually using the word sarcastically, because her sister has done something very immature, like sticking out her tongue. The adjective mature doesn't only describe advancing age, although the residents of a senior citizens' home could definitely be considered mature. Anything that is fully developed, like an aged cheese or bottle of wine, can also be called mature. The word can also refer to something that is only appropriate for people who are considered legal adults, like the movie that is for "mature audiences only."
Vocabulary lists containing mature
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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.
See Examples For:
Shifting fast-growing AI apps out of Azure stands to bolster growth in the more mature Microsoft 365 business, DiFucci said in an email to MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
Impressive, but perhaps too mature for a 5-year-old.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
"But it also is an exploration of mature themes and profound emotional things that everyone goes through at various times in their lives."
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
As these precursor cells mature, they must build new cellular structures, produce fats, and activate genes that allow them to specialize in storing energy.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
“One of us has to be the uncool, mature one,” she said, dropping her knitting into the bag next to the couch.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
“What I’ve told everybody is, ‘I’m a late maturer.’
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 20, 2020
"I came back to Scotland a lot maturer than when I left because I realised it was not quite the same up here," he says.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2015
While the diction is sometimes childlike, even in her maturer poems, their "direct line" to sharp, unmediated experience guarantees them against affectation, and the reader warms to their sensuousness and apparent candour.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 19, 2010
She's maturer and obviously her game has improved.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 21, 2010
If, however, the undergraduate occasionally displays the virtues of maturer age, there are certain indications that he is less of a grown-up person than he was in the brave days of old.
From Aspects of Modern Oxford by A. D. (Alfred Denis) Godley
Expect big, gut-busting laughs from the set tailored mainly for only the maturest of gift receivers.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
Composer Brahms's two sonatas for clarinet and piano belong to his last, maturest period.
From Time Magazine Archive
The concision of the design ... is in Epstein's maturest manner.
From Time Magazine Archive
There is a double hazard: the part demands the maturest art, must convey the most dewy fragrance.
From Time Magazine Archive
The feeblest mind is capable of assimilating knowledge with a satisfaction the same in kind as that which rewarded the maturest labors of Humboldt or Newton.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 72, October, 1863 by Various
One provider is likely to emerge as a dominant player as the quantum computing industry matures, Hazra said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
As the system matures, that environment develops into a gas-poor debris disk.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
Typically, investors immediately stop receiving their coupon payments, and if the reference asset hasn’t recovered past the barrier by the time the underlying contract matures, investors will risk losing principal.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
So it will be no fun to watch the price of your bond decline, but if you wait until it matures, you will be paid the face value of the bond.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
It matures in the eyes of fish, but can only reproduce inside the stomach of a bird.
From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
But the singer said he wanted “Dosis” to be different — he wanted it to show not only that he, as a person, has matured, but also that his sound has evolved.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
“We started with a total focus on user trust,” OpenAI’s Dugan said, adding that the company is in a different place now that the ad operation has matured.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
You’re supposed to have matured into the kind of person who wants the broccoli.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
It’s distilled and matured in the Canadian province of Manitoba, but then shipped in large containers to bottling facilities in the U.S. for distribution to American customers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
It was after that I noticed a change in her, as if her soul had at last matured and begun its cycles.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
"Restaurant delivery is maturing, and growth now lies in more frequent, higher-value orders: weekly grocery shops, convenience items, and retail," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Kane has been developing and maturing into one of England's all-time greats ever since those early loan spells at Leyton Orient and Millwall.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
Rather than quickly maturing into other cell types, the progenitors continued multiplying while preserving their identity and their capacity to generate functional immune cells.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Specific reserves are set aside for commercial loans as soon as there is any hint of delinquency or an inability to renew maturing loans.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026
Every day I feel myself maturing, I feel liberation drawing near, I feel the beauty of nature and the goodness of the people around me.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
