adult (ˈædʌlt
;əˈdʌlt)
Definitions
adjective
- having reached maturity; fully developed
- of or intended for mature people ⇒
adult education
- regarded as suitable only for adults, because of being pornographic ⇒
adult films and magazines
noun
- a person who has attained maturity; a grownup
- a mature fully grown animal or plant
- law a person who has attained the age of legal majority (18 years for most purposes) Compare infant
Alternative Forms
ˈadulthood nounWord Origin
C16: from Latin adultus, from adolēscere to grow up, from alēscere to grow, from alēre to feed, nourishTranslations
- British English:
adult
An adult is a mature, fully developed person. An adult has reached the age when they are legally responsible for their actions.Becoming a father signified that he was now an adult.ˈædʌlt; əˈdʌlt NOUN Becoming a father signified that he was now an adult.
- Spanish:
adulto
nm adulta
- French:
adulte
nm
- German:
Erwachsener
nm Erwachsene
- Chinese: 成年人 n
- Arabic: بَالِغ adj
- Portuguese: adulto nm
- Russian: взрослый nm взрослая
- Croatian: odrasla osoba nf
- Czech: dospělý muž nm dospělá žena
- Danish: voksen nutr
- Dutch: volwassene n
- Finnish: aikuinen n
- Greek: ενήλικος n ενήλικη
- Italian: adulto nm
- Japanese: 大人 n
- Korean: 성인 n
- Norwegian: voksen nm
- Polish: dorosły nm
- Brazilian Portuguese: adulto nm
- European Spanish:
adulto
nm adulta
- Swedish: vuxen nutr
- Thai: ผู้ใหญ่ n
- Turkish: yetişkin n
- Vietnamese: người trưởng thành n
Usage examples
The physiological cure for the impotence that had plagued most of his adult life had been at hand for some time.
, THE LAST TEMPTATION (2002)The Librarian: Quest for the Spear No, this has nothing to do with the adult section.
Maxim (2004)I became an architect partly in response to the tenements I saw around me as a teenager and young adult.
Irish Times (2002)This is the most effective way of bringing adult beginners into the sport.
Glasgow Herald (2001)Bobby would grow up and live most of his young adult life here.
, DE NIRO: A Biography (2002)