puberty

[ pyoo-ber-tee ]

/ ˈpyu bər ti /

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See synonyms for puberty on Thesaurus.com

noun

the period or age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction of offspring: in common law, presumed to be 14 years in the male and 12 years in the female.

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Origin of puberty

1350–1400; Middle English puberte<Latin pūbertās adulthood, equivalent to pūber-, stem of pūbēs grown-up + -tās-ty²

OTHER WORDS FROM puberty

post·pu·ber·ty, adjective

Words nearby puberty

pub, pub crawl, pub date, pube, pubertal, puberty, puberulent, pubes, pubescent, pub grub, pubic

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

How to use puberty in a sentence

In other words, something happens in puberty — but not earlier in childhood — that allows the brain to shift back to normal stress responses that had been skewed by early trauma.
Puberty can repair the brain’s stress responses after hardship early in life|Esther Landhuis|August 28, 2020|Science News
Taken together, Romeo’s studies suggested that neuroendocrine stress responses get shaped during puberty to emerge differently in adulthood.
Puberty can repair the brain’s stress responses after hardship early in life|Esther Landhuis|August 28, 2020|Science News
During puberty, the body grows faster, changes shape and gets hair in new places.
Explainer: What is puberty?|Esther Landhuis|August 27, 2020|Science News For Students
The responses were being shaped more powerfully when those stressors occurred around puberty rather than later in life.
Puberty may reboot the brain and behaviors|Esther Landhuis|August 27, 2020|Science News For Students

The researchers also noted at what stage of puberty each child was in —from 1 to 5.
Puberty may reboot the brain and behaviors|Esther Landhuis|August 27, 2020|Science News For Students
That our Post-Puberty Dennis the Menace appears to be lost in such deep slumber seems only understandable.
This Is What Justin Bieber Looks Like Sleeping, Taken by a Groupie (VIDEO)|Kevin Fallon|November 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Puberty, pū′bėr-ti, n. the age of full development: early manhood or womanhood: the period when a plant begins to flower.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)|Various
Puberty is reached relatively late, usually between the fourteenth and sixteenth years.
The Bontoc Igorot|Albert Ernest Jenks
Puberty comes to both sexes as early as at ten and eleven years.
The Physical Life of Woman:|Dr. George H Napheys
By "Puberty" is meant the age at which a woman begins her period of possible child-bearing experience.
Private Sex Advice to Women|R. B. Armitage
Puberty marks its advent, although the exact sign of its arrival is hard to determine.
The Boy and the Sunday School|John L. Alexander

British Dictionary definitions for puberty

puberty

/ (ˈpjuːbətɪ) /

noun

the period at the beginning of adolescence when the sex glands become functional and the secondary sexual characteristics emergeAlso called: pubescence Related adjective: hebetic

Derived forms of puberty

pubertal, adjective

Word Origin for puberty

C14: from Latin pūbertās maturity, from pūber adult

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

Scientific definitions for puberty

puberty

[ pyōō′bər-tē ]

The stage in the development of humans and other primates marked by the development of secondary sex characteristics, including menarche in females. In humans, puberty occurs at the onset of adolescence, between the ages of about 11 and 14 in girls and 13 and 16 in boys.

puberty

Origin of puberty

OTHER WORDS FROM puberty

Words nearby puberty

Words related to puberty

How to use puberty in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for puberty

Derived forms of puberty

Word Origin for puberty

Scientific definitions for puberty