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

Green is known for his young adult fiction books, including Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars, Turtles All the Way Down, among others. —Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026

While much in Pacific Beach is geared toward the college age and young adult population, one resident wants to provide more for its mature residents. —Sierra Knoch, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026

Ibtoye comes from Nigeria, while Morris immigrated from Vietnam as a young adult, and Kong was born in Hong Kong. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2026

On the Costa Mujeres north of Cancún, longevity clinic SHA Mexico recently introduced a comprehensive young adult wellness program that starts at age 12. —Kathryn Romeyn, HollywoodReporter, 24 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for young adult

• catapult
• subadult
• consult
• exult
• insult
• iseult
• occult
• result
• cult