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• youth
  youth

  noun

  the condition of being young.
• Youth
  Youth

  noun

  Isle of Youth an island in the Caribbean, a special municipality in southern Cuba. 1,182 sq. mi. (3,060 sq. km).

youth

¹ American  

[yooth] / juθ /

noun

• youths,
  plural
• youth
  plural

1. the condition of being young.

   Antonyms:

   maturity

2. the appearance, freshness, vigor, spirit, etc., characteristic of one who is young.

3. the time of being young; early life.

   His youth was spent on the farm.

   Synonyms:

   immaturity, minority

   Antonyms:

   maturity

4. the period of life from puberty to the attainment of full growth; adolescence.

5. the first or early period of anything.

   The business, even in its youth, showed great potential.

6. young persons collectively.

7. a young person, especially a young man or male adolescent.

   Synonyms:

   boy, lad, stripling, adolescent, teenager, youngster

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Youth ² American  

[yooth] / juθ /

noun

1. Isle of Youth an island in the Caribbean, a special municipality in southern Cuba. 1,182 sq. mi. (3,060 sq. km).

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youth ¹ British  

/ juːθ /

noun

1. the quality or condition of being young, immature, or inexperienced

   his youth told against him in the contest

2. the period between childhood and maturity, esp adolescence and early adulthood

3. the freshness, vigour, or vitality characteristic of young people

   youth shone out from her face

4. any period of early development

   the project was in its youth

5. a young person, esp a young man or boy

6. young people collectively

   youth everywhere is rising in revolt

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Youth ² British  

/ juːθ /

noun

1. Spanish name: Isla de la Juventud.  Former name: Isle of Pines.  an island in the NW Caribbean, south of Cuba: administratively part of Cuba from 1925. Chief town: Nueva Gerona. Pop: 80 600 (2002 est). Area: 3061 sq km (1182 sq miles)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• youthless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• youth
  plural
• youths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of youth

First recorded before 900; Middle English youthe, Old English geoguth; cognate with Dutch jeugd, German Jugend

Explanation

If you're not a little kid anymore, but you're not really an adult yet, you can describe this period of your life as your youth. You can use the noun youth in several ways — you might refer to a kid as a youth, describe the group of teenagers hanging out downtown as youth, or talk about the time in your life when you were young and carefree as your youth. In all cases, youth comes from the Old English geoguth, which is closely related to the root of young: geong.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

youth Youth youths

The trend comes amid stagnant wages, high youth unemployment and intense competition in the Chinese job market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Media reported a TikTok account belonging to the youth was being investigated.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

"As such, I respectfully ask you in the name of football to reconsider your attendance as it will unfortunately undermine the technical nature of this important youth development activity."

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

His opponent responds by juggling his outstretched palms in a "6-7," a viral youth meme that has no fixed meaning but has become so ubiquitous that even Pope Leo has taken to performing it.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

His rites had gone so well that, immediately after his initiation, he’d been promoted to a kapteni, a captain, despite his youth.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

After winning silver and bronze, he went on to win gold and set a new world record at the 1989 Miami World Youth Games.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

A China Youth Daily survey released this year found that 77.3% of 1,334 young respondents had rented something instead of buying it.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

“By establishing the CalEPA Youth Council, we are ensuring that young people can engage directly in climate action, serve California’s communities, and have a say in the future of our environment,” Newsom said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

She helped establish the French branch of Youth Aliyah; by 1936, some 120 children had reached Palestine through its efforts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

As the Russians advanced, his Hitler Youth battalion was sent to dig trenches at the front line, now just thirty miles east of Berlin.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

She estimated there were at least 200 protesters, many of them youths wearing hoodies.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

That rumour was amplified by social media and the sharing of images showing hundreds of youths celebrating their entry into the territory.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

He looks vulnerable as India’s unemployed youths transform an insult into a political rallying cry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Long before Bad Bunny became one of the most popular artists in the world, Beltrán devoted his work off the field to helping Puerto Rican youths and promoting his island.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Tears flowed freely down the cheeks of youths returning from school, and men and women returning from work.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Related Words

• minority
• teens