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
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 Only occasionally would extra subjects be added to young women’s schooling, mainly if their guardians felt the money and effort were worth it. E.r. Zarevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024 Many girls and young women know, at least intellectually, that romance isn’t their only path to living their best life. Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2024 The couple purchased their 1962 Mar Vista home in 1999 for $360,000 when their two children, now 26 and 29, were young. Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 The associations were particularly pronounced for participants who were younger than 55, overweight or obese, or relatively sedentary. Lauren Manaker Ms, Rdn, Health, 12 Mar. 2024 The basics In 2021, Capella launched its younger, fresher sister-brand Patina right here. Christopher Cameron, Robb Report, 12 Mar. 2024 Five people, including three young children, are dead after a two-vehicle accident in Illinois on Monday. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024 Related video Kremlin propaganda machine props up Putin’s image ahead of Russian elections Putin is 71 years old, a decade younger than US President Joe Biden. Nathan Hodge, CNN, 11 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 19 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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