Young
1 Americannoun
-
Andrew (Jackson, Jr.), born 1932, U.S. clergyman, Black civil rights leader, politician, and diplomat: mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, 1981–89.
-
Art(hur Henry), 1866–1944, U.S. cartoonist and author.
-
Brigham, 1801–77, U.S. leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
-
Charles, 1864–1922, U.S. army colonel: highest-ranking Black officer in World War I.
-
Denton True Cy, 1867–1955, U.S. baseball player.
-
Edward, 1683–1765, English poet.
-
Ella, 1867–1956, Irish poet and mythologist in the U.S.
-
Lester Willis PresPrez, 1909–59, U.S. jazz tenor saxophonist.
-
Owen D., 1874–1962, U.S. lawyer, industrialist, government administrator, and financier.
-
Stark, 1881–1963, U.S. drama critic, novelist, and playwright.
-
Thomas, 1773–1829, English physician, physicist, mathematician, and Egyptologist.
-
Whitney M., Jr., 1921–71, U.S. social worker and educator: executive director of the National Urban League 1961–71.
adjective
-
being in the first or early stage of life or growth; youthful; not old.
a young woman.
- Synonyms:
- growing
-
having the appearance, freshness, vigor, or other qualities of youth.
-
of or relating to youth.
in one's young days.
-
inexperienced or immature.
-
not far advanced in years in comparison with another or others.
-
junior, as applied to the younger of two persons having the same name.
the young Mr. Smith.
-
being in an early stage generally, as of existence, progress, operation, development, or maturity; new; early.
a young wine; It is a young company, not yet firmly established.
-
representing or advocating recent or progressive tendencies, policies, or the like.
noun
-
those who have youth; young persons collectively.
the educated young of today; a game for young and old.
-
young offspring.
a mother hen protecting her young.
idioms
noun
-
Brigham (ˈbrɪɡəm). 1801–77, US Mormon leader, who led the Mormon migration to Utah and founded Salt Lake City (1847)
-
Edward. 1683–1765, English poet and dramatist, noted for his Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality (1742–45)
-
Lester. 1909–59, US saxophonist and clarinetist. He was a leading early exponent of the tenor saxophone in jazz
-
Neil ( Percival ). born 1945, Canadian rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His albums include Harvest (1972), Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Ragged Glory (1990), and Prairie Wind (2005)
-
Thomas. 1773–1829, English physicist, physician, and Egyptologist. He helped to establish the wave theory of light by his experiments on optical interference and assisted in the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone
adjective
-
-
having lived, existed, or been made or known for a relatively short time
a young man
a young movement
a young country
-
( as collective noun; preceded by the )
the young
-
-
youthful or having qualities associated with youth; vigorous or lively
she's very young for her age
-
of or relating to youth
in my young days
-
having been established or introduced for a relatively short time
a young member
-
in an early stage of progress or development; not far advanced
the day was young
-
geography
-
(of mountains) formed in the Alpine orogeny and still usually rugged in outline
-
another term for youthful
-
-
(often capital) of or relating to a rejuvenated group or movement or one claiming to represent the younger members of the population, esp one adhering to a political ideology
Young England
Young Socialists
noun
-
(functioning as plural) offspring, esp young animals
a rabbit with her young
-
(of animals) pregnant
Related Words
Young, youthful, juvenile all refer to lack of age. Young is the general word for that which is undeveloped, immature, and in process of growth: a young colt, child; young shoots of wheat. Youthful has connotations suggesting the favorable characteristics of youth, such as vigor, enthusiasm, and hopefulness: youthful sports, energy, outlook. Juvenile may suggest less desirable characteristics, such as childishness, petulance, idleness, selfishness, or heedlessness ( juvenile behavior ), or it may refer simply to the years, up to the later teens, before legal responsibility: juvenile delinquency; juvenile court; juvenile books.
Other Word Forms
- quasi-young adjective
- youngish adjective
Etymology
Origin of young
First recorded before 900; Middle English yong(e), Old English geong; cognate with Dutch jong, German jung, Old Norse ungr, Gothic jungs; akin to Latin juvenis
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 Mr. Hart points out, this “mechanical slaughter” anticipated others during World War I. Men who were ambitious young officers during the Sudan operations subsequently reached high command during the “Great War.”
“Gender-affirming care saved my life at 16. Please do not take this vital care away from other young people like me,” Aaron Demlow pleaded.
From Salon
Disgraced Spanish ex-king Juan Carlos I on Monday appeared in an unexpected video aimed at young people days before his memoirs come out in Spain, defending his record against "distortions".
From Barron's
He also promised to push ahead with reforming the welfare system, which he said had "trapped people in poverty" and "wrote young people off as too ill to work".
From BBC
For years now, NFL teams have prized young quarterbacks because of the brief window when they are on affordable deals.
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.