young adult
Americannoun
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a teenager (used especially by publishers and librarians).
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a person in the early years of adulthood.
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.
As a teenager and young adult, Jessica tried to learn more about her mom’s case.
From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026
That wasn’t being reflected in the young adult projects he saw.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
The victim, who is now a young adult, was finally identified and contacted after researchers saw a picture of her school uniform.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
Erin Moriarity started saving and investing in her teens, and was “aggressively chasing FIRE” as a young adult “through very traditional behaviors: working, budgeting, and saving and investing,” she told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 14, 2026
But she said that growing up and as a young adult, she never had a dentist to go to, so she had done her best.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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.
