young

adjective

\ˈyəŋ

younger\ˈyəŋ-gər

\; youngest\ˈyəŋ-gəst

Definition of young

(Entry 1 of 8)

1a : being in the first or an early stage of life, growth, or development

b : junior sense 1a

c : of an early, tender, or desirable age for use as food or drink fresh young lamb a young wine

2 : having little experience

3a : recently come into being : new a young publishing company

b : youthful sense 5

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

young

noun

plural young

Definition of young (Entry 2 of 8)

1 plural

a : young persons : youth

b : immature offspring —used especially of animals

2 : a single recently born or hatched animal

with young

of a female animal

: pregnant

Young

biographical name (1)

\ˈyəŋ

Definition of Young (Entry 3 of 8)

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

Young

biographical name (2)

Definition of Young (Entry 4 of 8)

Brig*ham \ˈbri-gəm \ 1801–1877 American Mormon leader

Young

biographical name (3)

Definition of Young (Entry 5 of 8)

Cy originally Denton True Young 1867–1955 American baseball player

Young

biographical name (4)

Definition of Young (Entry 6 of 8)

Michael W(arren) 1949– American geneticist

Young

biographical name (5)

Definition of Young (Entry 7 of 8)

Owen D. 1874–1962 American lawyer

Young

biographical name (6)

Definition of Young (Entry 8 of 8)

Whitney Moore 1921–1971 American civil rights leader

Other Words from young Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about young

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Synonyms & Antonyms for young

Synonyms: Adjective

adolescent, immature, juvenile, youngish, youthful

Antonyms: Adjective

adult, grown-up, mature, matured

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

That bill, Title 24, was signed when Jerry Brown was the youngest governor in California’s history. — David Roberts, Vox, "Climate change policy can be overwhelming. Here’s a guide to the policies that work.," 30 Nov. 2018 Ah, young love: For these flourishing couples, the fashion memo for 2018 was more cutting-edge streetwear and designer labels. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, "The Fashion-Forward Couples Who Dominated 2018," 29 Nov. 2018 Designart also teamed up with the Swedish Society of Crafts to present a showcase of works by young Swedish designers. — Sarah Hucal, Curbed, "Designart Tokyo, in second-annual event, shows promise," 27 Nov. 2018 Type 3 is characterized by a specific type of brain atrophy, seen on an MRI, and generally strikes younger individuals with no family history of Alzheimer’s. — Linda Marsa, Discover Magazine, "A New Treatment for Alzheimer's? It Starts With Lifestyle," 16 Nov. 2018 And despite the age difference between their oldest and youngest child (Drake is 13), everyone has been able to get it on their recent family fun. — Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, "Chip and Joanna Gaines' Kids 'Fight Over' Baby Crew for the Sweetest Reason," 27 Oct. 2018 What’s your advice for young writers who feel like their options are a low-paying job in a dying industry or a low-paying job writing boring marketing copy? — Rebecca Jennings, Vox, "How to make $6,000 a day writing Instagram quotes — sort of," 15 Nov. 2018 All of the dogs were Samoyeds, a breed of large herding dog with a thick, white, double-layer coat famous for herding reindeer in Siberia, and ranged in age from young puppies to nine years old. — Lucy Diavolo, Teen Vogue, "Over 160 Dogs and Puppies Were Rescued From an Iowa Puppy Mill With the ASPCA's Help," 15 Nov. 2018 Not wanting to waste money on taxis to save for her young daughter’s future and living in a rough Chicago neighborhood, Belle regularly power-runs to catch the bus for her on-call babysitting jobs late at night. — Fawnia Soo Hoo, Glamour, "The Costumes in Widows Mirror Each Woman’s Journey," 15 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Maybe that’s a consequence of a parent dying young who’s been involved in public service and has only been involved in it in a way that’s pretty idealistic. — Becky Bohrer, The Seattle Times, "Democrat Begich turns to AK voters 1 more time in guv race," 22 Oct. 2018 Sawyer, my best friend’s kid—to help me figure out what the youngs are into these days. — Heather Hansman, Outside Online, "A 3-Year-Old Reviews Outdoorsy Kids' Books," 5 July 2018 Snapchat’s core business model and its claim on the fickle attention of addled, low-information consumers (read: the youngs) rests on enabling people to send impulsive, often vulgar missives that then disappear. — Daniel Gross, Slate Magazine, "The Donald Trump of IPOs," 6 Feb. 2017 Unfortunately, the youngs were only able to complete one of those very important missions. — Peggy Truong, Cosmopolitan, "Kylie Jenner Doesn't Want You to Touch Her," 1 Apr. 2016 In the wild, males will sometimes kill the young of another male and replace them with his own. — Paul Nicklen, National Geographic, "6 Animals That Are Stellar Stepdads," 13 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'young.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.