Young Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms young 1 American [yuhng] / yʌŋ /

adjective

younger, youngest

1. being in the first or early stage of life or growth; youthful; not old.

   a young woman.

   Synonyms: growing Antonyms: old, mature

2. having the appearance, freshness, vigor, or other qualities of youth.

3. of or relating to youth.

   in one's young days.

4. inexperienced or immature.

5. not far advanced in years in comparison with another or others.

6. junior, as applied to the younger of two persons having the same name.

   the young Mr. Smith.

7. being in an early stage generally, as of existence, progress, operation, development, or maturity; new; early.

   a young wine; It is a young company, not yet firmly established.

8. representing or advocating recent or progressive tendencies, policies, or the like.

noun

1. those who have youth; young persons collectively.

   the educated young of today; a game for young and old.

2. young offspring.

   a mother hen protecting her young.

idioms

1. with young, (of an animal) pregnant.

Young 2 American [yuhng] / yʌŋ /

noun

1. Andrew (Jackson, Jr.), born 1932, U.S. clergyman, Black civil rights leader, politician, and diplomat: mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, 1981–89.

2. Art(hur Henry), 1866–1944, U.S. cartoonist and author.

3. Brigham, 1801–77, U.S. leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

4. Charles, 1864–1922, U.S. army colonel: highest-ranking Black officer in World War I.

5. Denton True Cy, 1867–1955, U.S. baseball player.

6. Edward, 1683–1765, English poet.

7. Ella, 1867–1956, Irish poet and mythologist in the U.S.

8. Lester Willis PresPrez, 1909–59, U.S. jazz tenor saxophonist.

9. Owen D., 1874–1962, U.S. lawyer, industrialist, government administrator, and financier.

10. Stark, 1881–1963, U.S. drama critic, novelist, and playwright.

11. Thomas, 1773–1829, English physician, physicist, mathematician, and Egyptologist.

12. Whitney M., Jr., 1921–71, U.S. social worker and educator: executive director of the National Urban League 1961–71.

young 1 British / jʌŋ /

adjective

1. 1. having lived, existed, or been made or known for a relatively short time

      a young man

      a young movement

      a young country

   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the young

2. youthful or having qualities associated with youth; vigorous or lively

   she's very young for her age

3. of or relating to youth

   in my young days

4. having been established or introduced for a relatively short time

   a young member

5. in an early stage of progress or development; not far advanced

   the day was young

6. geography

   1. (of mountains) formed in the Alpine orogeny and still usually rugged in outline

   2. another term for youthful

7. (often capital) of or relating to a rejuvenated group or movement or one claiming to represent the younger members of the population, esp one adhering to a political ideology

   Young England

   Young Socialists

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. (functioning as plural) offspring, esp young animals

   a rabbit with her young

2. (of animals) pregnant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Young 2 British / jʌŋ /

noun

1. Brigham (ˈbrɪɡəm). 1801–77, US Mormon leader, who led the Mormon migration to Utah and founded Salt Lake City (1847)

2. Edward. 1683–1765, English poet and dramatist, noted for his Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality (1742–45)

3. Lester. 1909–59, US saxophonist and clarinetist. He was a leading early exponent of the tenor saxophone in jazz

4. Neil ( Percival ). born 1945, Canadian rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His albums include Harvest (1972), Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Ragged Glory (1990), and Prairie Wind (2005)

5. Thomas. 1773–1829, English physicist, physician, and Egyptologist. He helped to establish the wave theory of light by his experiments on optical interference and assisted in the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Young Scientific / yŭng /

1. British physicist and physician who is best known for his contributions to the wave theory of light and his discovery of how the lens of the human eye changes shape to focus on objects of different distances. He also studied surface tension and elasticity, and Young's modulus (a measure of the rigidity of materials) is named for him. He is also credited with the first scientific definition of the word energy.

Related Words

Young, youthful, juvenile all refer to lack of age. Young is the general word for that which is undeveloped, immature, and in process of growth: a young colt, child; young shoots of wheat. Youthful has connotations suggesting the favorable characteristics of youth, such as vigor, enthusiasm, and hopefulness: youthful sports, energy, outlook. Juvenile may suggest less desirable characteristics, such as childishness, petulance, idleness, selfishness, or heedlessness ( juvenile behavior ), or it may refer simply to the years, up to the later teens, before legal responsibility: juvenile delinquency; juvenile court; juvenile books.

Other Word Forms

• quasi-young adjective
• youngish adjective

Etymology

Origin of young

First recorded before 900; Middle English yong(e), Old English geong; cognate with Dutch jong, German jung, Old Norse ungr, Gothic jungs; akin to Latin juvenis

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.

Vice-captains Ford and Genge, who both made errors in the game, are examples of other players who could step up, but new leaders from England's younger generation will also need to emerge.

From BBC

At Tehran University of Medical Sciences, students held a march and a sit-in in solidarity with imprisoned students and other young detainees.

From The Wall Street Journal

He hopes that an influx of young musicians will bring a boost to local venues, which have struggled in recent years.

From BBC

Supporters of the plans highlighted the wellbeing benefits for younger residents and those who valued shared cultural experiences.

From BBC

Trauma remains a leading cause of death among younger people, and changes in red blood cell production and metabolism could affect glucose availability and muscle performance.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• budding
• inexperienced
• new
• youthful

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.