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:
Ultimately, fewer mature oligodendrocytes are produced and remain.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Companies that don’t invest now, won’t be ready to take advantage of it whenever it does ultimately mature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The compound comes with a three-car garage, two ipe wood decks, several outdoor seating areas, and drought-resistant landscaping that abounds with leafy hedges and mature trees.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Egg freezing involves stimulating the ovaries with hormone injections before mature eggs are surgically retrieved and preserved for possible future use through in vitro fertilization.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Don Apolinar Moscote, a mature man, timid, with a ruddy complexion, said yes.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“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
Perhaps if Beaumont had lived, the two might have advanced to maturer and worthier achievement, but Fletcher's work alone rather displays the superficialities and artificialities of the collaboration.
From Tragedy by Ashley H. Thorndike
Expect big, gut-busting laughs from the set tailored mainly for only the maturest of gift receivers.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
He also wrote the maturest poems of his life, possibly the finest that have ever been written about war.
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
In Dialogue With Death the Hungarian Arthur Koestler's clinical notes on the subject of life & death were perhaps the maturest writing of the year.
From Time Magazine Archive
Salzmann's belief that "the most useful man is the best," may be said, indeed, to sum up Goethe's own maturest conviction regarding the conduct of life.
From The Youth of Goethe by Peter Hume Brown
They also have a major role in building myelin as the brain matures.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Plus, as the AI trade matures, investor interest is expanding beyond the early leaders to semiconductor companies and other second- and third-order beneficiaries of AI spending.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
The Dutch telecommunications company has a record of delivering guidance and its free cash flow is expected to rise next year as its fiber roll-out matures, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Spot Bitcoin ETFs record $6 billion in outflows over six weeks as Bitcoin matures into an institutional asset influenced by fund flows.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
I am not a conservative, but one matures and regards some of the views of one’s youth as undeveloped and callow.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Large sections of DNA switched between active and inactive states as the cells matured.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
Koss has no plans to trade bitcoin again any time soon, saying he believes the asset has matured to a point where explosive, parabolic gains are a thing of the past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
"In his first year Seydou looked like a young deer that could run but hadn't really matured yet, grown into his body," adds Jones.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
In June, Intel said that its 18A-P variant node is in risk production, meaning the chip-manufacturing process has matured and can begin initial production.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Perhaps later, when the system has matured, more liberal policies may be permitted.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Brain development raises a different question: where does the stress hormone come from when the brain is maturing normally?
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
The lotteries take no financial risk offering that annuity since they buy zero-coupon Treasury bonds maturing on those dates, much the way corporate pension funds do.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
With his impish attitude and energetic outlook, maturing on his own terms, he seems far off from any sort of valedictory phase.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Byrd’s singularity remains today, as she weighs a legacy steeped in youth against her maturing body and mind.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
As in the families of humans, the maturing stars journey far from home, and the siblings see little of each other.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
