young adult

adjective

: of, relating to, or being a category of fiction that is primarily intended for adolescent readers

young adult fiction/literature

We live in an era of blockbuster young adult book series: Harry Potter, Twilight, now the Hunger Games.

—Leah Wilson

Early in her four-year career as the young adult librarian of the Huckaby Public Library, Veronica Garde observed that most of the staff had a sliding scale of courtesy toward library users, teenagers being given the shortest shrift.

—A. J. Anderson

—abbreviation YA

Examples of young adult in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While a successful addition to the streamer’s expansive slate of young adult stories, translating the book to screen didn’t come without challenges. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026

Nguyen was inspired to leverage her position as young adult librarian to address neighborhood food scarcity. — Melody Xu, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026

Myocarditis, in particular, has been most typically seen in adolescent and young adult males within a week of their second mRNA Covid vaccine dose, but the CDC says that most patients respond well to medicine and rest and feel better quickly. — Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026

Politico and the Washington Post have previously reported on Miller’s run-ins with the law as a young adult, including charges, which were later dismissed, for underage drinking, assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. — Chad De Guzman, Time, 3 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above