young

1 of 2

adjective

younger ˈyəŋ-gər How to pronounce young (audio) ; youngest ˈyəŋ-gəst How to pronounce young (audio)
1
a
: being in the first or an early stage of life, growth, or development
c
: of an early, tender, or desirable age for use as food or drink
fresh young lamb
a young wine
2
: having little experience
3
a
: recently come into being : new
a young publishing company
4
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of youth or a young person
young at heart
5
capitalized : representing a new or rejuvenated especially political group or movement
youngish adjective
youngness noun

young

2 of 2

noun

plural young
1
plural
a
: young persons : youth
b
: immature offspring
used especially of animals
2
: a single recently born or hatched animal
Phrases
with young
of a female animal

Examples of young in a Sentence

Adjective He looks young for his age. A very nice young man greeted us at the door. Young people today have a lot of opportunities. He dreamed of being an artist when he was young. The movie isn't suitable for young viewers. He's still too young to buy alcohol legally. Our youngest daughter just started school. When I was young,” the man said, “the world was a different place.” The season is still young. Noun music that appeals to the young The very young and the elderly are particularly sensitive to the disease. a robin feeding her young The young of a wolf are called pups.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Back in the ’80s, that was a familiar refrain, especially among adults wary of the effect that electronic devices could have on developing young minds. Peter Debruge, Variety, 25 Mar. 2024 Within weeks, prosecutors allege, Riley began incrementally transferring that money to the Local Leadership political committee, which was officially created to support the campaign of Díaz de la Portilla’s younger brother, Renier, who at the time was running for county commission. Tess Riski, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2024 Travis Kelce is spreading joy to young Swifties in his home state! Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 24 Mar. 2024 Its oldest members are not quite ready for a quinceañera, while its youngest will be conceived in the coming weeks. Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024 For the first time in the club’s young life, Bay FC has some problems to address. Jason Mastrodonato, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024 The lanes have been popular with parents of young cyclists — but criticized by sport cyclists who bike long distances and travel at higher speeds. Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Mar. 2024 For young people, the dissent that briefly kindled protests against pandemic lockdowns has settled into a malaise of vague discontent. Christina Knight, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2024 His wife, Gina Glass, moved with their young daughter Helen to Lorain, Ohio, in July 2023, to live with and care for a grandmother. The Enquirer, 13 Mar. 2024
Noun
Following up on past observations that caecilian broods spend a lot of time around the maternal vent, Jared, Antoniazzi, and their co-researchers collected 16 female caecilians and their young from beneath the forest floor of cacao plantations. Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024 The studious young aimed to be au courant—not to change reality or even understand it, but to win college debates and take competitive exams for public sector jobs. Anjum Hasan, The New York Review of Books, 28 Dec. 2023 Photograph: Andrew Hetherington Cameron young slides a driver from his bag. WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023 By 1986, Lampley was ringside in upstate New York broadcasting young Mike Tyson’s destruction of veteran Jesse Ferguson. Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2023 Researchers warn the shift can have dire consequences for animals like penguins who breed and rear their young on the sea ice, while also hastening global warming by reducing how much sunlight is reflected by white ice back into space. Reuters, NBC News, 26 Sep. 2023 However, this is the SEC and starting that young is difficult. Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 2 Sep. 2023 Simmons: There’s an effort to anger and divide our nation, and the indoctrination of our young to support that effort must stop. Beth Mlady, cleveland, 8 Sep. 2023 This is Idzik’s first season as the Bucs receivers coach, but older players are blown away by the collection young of talent at their position. Rick Stroud, Orlando Sentinel, 17 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'young.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English yong, from Old English geong; akin to Old High German jung young, Latin juvenis

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of young was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near young

Cite this Entry

“Young.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/young. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

young

1 of 2 adjective
younger ˈyəŋ-gər How to pronounce young (audio) ; youngest ˈyəŋ-gəst How to pronounce young (audio)
1
a
: being in the early stage of life, growth, or development
2
: lacking in experience
3
: recently come into being : new
young rock strata
4
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of youth or a young person
young at heart
youngness noun

young

2 of 2 noun plural
1
: young persons : youth
music that appeals to the young
2
: immature or recently born offspring
a bear and her young

Medical Definition

young

noun
plural young
1
: immature offspring
used especially of animals
2
: a single recently born or hatched animal

Biographical Definition

Young 1 of 6

biographical name (1)

Andrew Jackson, Jr. 1932–     U.S. ambassador to U.N. (1977–79)

Young

2 of 6

biographical name (2)

Brig*ham ˈbri-gəm How to pronounce Young (audio) 1801–1877 American Mormon leader

Young

3 of 6

biographical name (3)

Cy originally Denton True Young 1867–1955 American baseball player

Young

4 of 6

biographical name (4)

Michael W(arren) 1949–     American geneticist

Young

5 of 6

biographical name (5)

Owen D. 1874–1962 American lawyer

Young

6 of 6

biographical name (6)

Whitney Moore 1921–1971 American civil rights leader

More from Merriam-Webster on young

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