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 young adult romance follows that same hard and fast rule, happily ever afters can sometimes feel more fleeting for YA couples than for their adult counterparts. —Jennifer Dugan, PEOPLE, 7 June 2026

For her last stop, the future queen visited the teenage and young adult unit to meet young patients and their families, as well as staff. —Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 4 June 2026

As a young adult, it is believed that Rosemary exhibited violent mood swings during a time when mental health was stigmatized. —Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026

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

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above