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 Lucy ends up in a sort of love triangle, the movie is ultimately about learning how to make decisions as a young adult. —Kelsie Gibson, PEOPLE, 27 Nov. 2025

Upon completion of the deal, Twiner McCarron will join Blue Ant to oversee a combined kids, young adult and animation business within Blue Ant Studios, and one Thunderbird director will join the Blue Ant board. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 26 Nov. 2025

Madelaine Petsch and Gavin Casalegno will star in the upcoming young adult romance Chasing Red, based on the Wattpad webnovel by Isabelle Ronin. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 25 Nov. 2025

As a young adult, Etoria suffered from psychiatric problems. —Sarah Stillman, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for young adult

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