noun
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a young person; child or youth
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a young animal, esp a horse
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of youngster
Explanation
Youngster is a good, generic way to talk about a person who's younger than you are, especially a child. If you babysit a neighborhood kid, you can describe him as a youngster. The noun youngster is a casual word meaning "child," and its synonyms include tyke and small fry. Older people sometimes use it to refer to adults who are younger than they are: "You youngsters can keep playing cards, but I'm going to bed!" Youngster has been around since the 1500's, when it replaced the earlier youngling.
Vocabulary lists containing youngster
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:
The youngster is scheduled to be arraigned at the Juvenile Justice Center in Oxnard on July 20.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
As a youngster, he twice missed out on tours for failing to meet conditioning standards - once with England Under-19s in 2013, then a Northants pre-season trip in 2015.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
But with the youngster struggling for confidence and belief, his talent needed to be nurtured.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
The youngster was forced to move to Zadar with his family, living as refugees in hotels where he would play football with other children displaced by the fighting.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
It happened in 1848, long before I was surrounded by concrete and cars, when I was just a few decades old—still a youngster, by red oak standards.
From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate
By the age of 10, Fery's technical ability had already marked him as one of the most talented youngsters in the country.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Ruto is "clearly very unpopular with many Kenyans, especially the Gen Z" youngsters, said political analyst Gabrielle Lynch.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Jackie and Shadow’s youngsters — now teens by eagle standards — are hopping and flapping their wings as they prepare for their first flight, known as fledging.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
And most youngsters continue to lack proficiency in both subjects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Hand-clapping songs, circle games and dances in which narrative movements are used were performed and elaborated on generation after generation by children and youngsters.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
