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:
In this case, the interaction helps awaken dormant satellite cells, allowing them to multiply, mature, and participate in repairing muscle fibers.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
"I believe the South African economy is mature enough to deal with this," Swanepoel said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
A dominating presence at the round table, he characterises himself as the "yapping terrier" to actor Michael Sheen's "mature labrador", as they sniffed out the traitors.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Management concedes that in mature markets such as the U.S., growth will now come mostly from higher prices and advertising.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Seasonal changes of day length, temperature, and rainfall constitute signals that stimulate seeds to germinate, seedlings to grow, and mature plants to develop flowers, seeds, and fruit.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
“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
The most celebrated of these are present to the mind of every English scholar, from his school-boy days to his maturer studies.
From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by E. Rameur
Expect big, gut-busting laughs from the set tailored mainly for only the maturest of gift receivers.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
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
The concision of the design ... is in Epstein's maturest manner.
From Time Magazine Archive
King Lear contains half a dozen roles stamped with Shakespeare's maturest genius.
From Time Magazine Archive
The disciple's maturest manhood is only the perfection of his childhood.
From George Müller of Bristol And His Witness to a Prayer-Hearing God by Arthur T. (Arthur Tappan) Pierson
When you buy a bond, you’re lending money to the issuer who promises to pay you interest and return the principal when the bond matures on a set date.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
As the system matures, that environment develops into a gas-poor debris disk.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
He said this normally happens when the cycle matures and the Federal Reserve starts raising interest rates.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
As its shale resource matures, U.S. oil production is likely to peak in the early 2030s, with remaining wells becoming more expensive to drill, according to a recent analysis from Enverus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
As a young sea demon matures, the narrator said, changes happen in the monster’s body.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
He "has matured substantially in his thoughts and views" in jail, his lawyer told the court in September.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
Forestry and Land Scotland say the blaze around Glenmore in the Cairngorms may have led to the loss of many so-called "granny pines" which have matured over centuries.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Fourteen years later, Graham returns to Salzburg as an attorney, after the program has matured, to discover something has soured.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
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
Once inside the womb, semen matured into a fetus via nourishment from the mother.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The issuance will refund $97 billion of notes maturing on Nov. 15 and raise $28 billion in new cash.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
"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
As AI is maturing, many investors want to trade more precisely around the winners and losers as they shake out, according to Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 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
It was certainly better to imagine myself becoming famous than maturing into a stifled academic who had never risked a thought.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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