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

But now the housing affordability crisis is expanding roommate life far beyond the big cities where many Americans start their young adult lives. —Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 1 June 2026

The life-and-death stakes were raised when the former high school series jumped five years to show a now-young adult Rue becoming a drug mule and working for rival kingpins (Martha Kelly’s Laurie also took her own life in the finale). —Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 1 June 2026

While graduation marks the end of one financial chapter, these are some of the next important financial decisions a young adult will face. —Vanessa Duplessie, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026

The nonprofit helps child and young adult survivors of human trafficking in the San Diego-Tijuana border area. —Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above