puberty

American  

[pyoo-ber-tee] / ˈpju bər ti /

noun

puberties plural

1. 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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puberty British  

/ ˈpjuːbətɪ /

noun

1. Also called: pubescence.  the period at the beginning of adolescence when the sex glands become functional and the secondary sexual characteristics emerge

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puberty Scientific  

/ pyo̅o̅′bər-tē /

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• postpuberty
  adjective
• pubertal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• puberties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of puberty

1350–1400; Middle English puberte < Latin pūbertās adulthood, equivalent to pūber- , stem of pūbēs grown-up + -tās -ty ²

Explanation

Puberty is a time of life when your sex organs start working like an adult's. During puberty, girls and boys start to become women and men. One of the most difficult yet exciting times in life has to be puberty: it's an awkward period between childhood and adulthood when your body rapidly changes. You go through a growth spurt, hair sprouts in new places. Your sex organs start to work for the first time. Hormones are coursing through your veins. Your voice may change. So when you think of puberty, think "awkward stage."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

puberty

The reason behind treating her differently was that she had begun gender-affirming care that included both puberty blockers and hormone therapy starting when she was 10 years old.

From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026

A spokesperson for the organisation says the trial risks causing irreversible harm to the participants and will not resolve the "outstanding questions about puberty blockers".

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Because the organ gradually shrinks after puberty and produces fewer new T cells over time, many scientists assumed it played only a limited role in adult health.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026

After puberty, she said, growth hormone won’t make bones grow long, but other parts of the body may grow disproportionately, including the hands, feet, jaw and tongue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026

In bad times puberty is late and fertility decreases.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Related Words

• adolescence