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
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Being a young adult in a new city can come with a lot of questions. Kansas City Star, 4 May 2026 One young adult attendee asked about the accuracy and the purpose of a graph Walsh cited in one of his Youtube videos that claimed a growing number of mass shooters in America are transgender. Saige Miller, NPR, 30 Apr. 2026 Short fiction, a novel about young adult crushes and an amazing Minnesota musician’s memoir will brighten your spring reading. Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 26 Apr. 2026 The key is participation in these higher dollar types of events may be later in life when the teenager becomes a young adult ideally with a job and can pay for the expenses on their own or with some parental support. Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for young adult

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of young adult was in 1942

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Cite this Entry

“Young adult.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/young%20adult. Accessed 7 May. 2026.

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