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:
Mr. Levin paints the pampered youngster as a “stubbornly self-centered” boy who kept “studiously aloof” from the antislavery activism that young Harvard radicals embraced in the late 1850s—and that Shaw was all but born to.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
I went through this learning experience way back when I was a libertarian youngster and I read “The Triumph of Politics” by President Ronald Reagan’s libertarian budget director, David Stockman.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Fletcher - then Gabriel's coach at under-18 level - said no, believing the youngster wasn't physically ready.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Manchester United youngster JJ Gabriel has travelled to Barcelona as some of Europe's biggest clubs continue to vie for his signature.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
A youngster appeared, and asked, “Fill her up?”
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
"But I'm still there, still grinding, still making the youngsters work for their money. I'm just glad to push it through."
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Nonetheless, the team will still feature plenty of intrigue roster-wise, with a mix of youngsters “doing TikToks” and “old heads” trying to keep up, as Garland described it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
It’s not clear how or why the youngsters wound up so finely dressed or if they were able to move in higher-society circles during their time in Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Compared to many youngsters, Billy Vigar joined the football system late - and yet his talent was still recognised.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
As the youngsters sort through the stinking stew, thousands of sleek, black buzzards soar in a dark, swirling cloud and defecate on the people below.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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.
