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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] / yuθ /

noun

plural

youths,

plural

youth

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] / yuθ /

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

• youthless
  adjective

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

The advertising-driven systemization of narrowcasting succeeded on the basis of exclusion, and the advertisers pursuing the disposable income of The Youth were not about to let TV networks give them something everyone could enjoy.

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026

A teenage boy who was being held at Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in west London has died, the Youth Custody Service has said.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

Fidelity’s Youth Account requires the teen to convert to a standard brokerage account within 60 days of turning 18.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Youth unemployment is at one in four—double the global average.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

To accomplish this, Hitler turned to twenty-six-year-old Baldur von Schirach, leader of the Hitler Youth.

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

Related Words

• minority
• teens