Definitions for adult
əˈdʌlt, ˈæd ʌltadult

Princeton's WordNet(3.60 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. adult, grownupnoun

   a fully developed person from maturity onward

2. adultadjective

   any mature animal

3. adult, big, full-grown, fully grown, grown, grownupadjective

   (of animals) fully developed

   "an adult animal"; "a grown woman"

4. pornographic, adultadjective

   designed to arouse lust

   "pornographic films and magazines"; "adult movies"

Wiktionary(2.67 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. adultnoun

   A fully grown human or animal.

2. adultnoun

   A person who lives outside the parental home.

3. adultnoun

   A person whose parents are deceased.

4. adultadjective

   Of a human or animal, fully grown.

5. adultadjective

   Intended for adults rather than children.

   adult clothes

6. adultadjective

   Containing material of an explicit sexual nature

7. Etymology: adulte, adultus, past participle of adolescere; see adolescent.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ADULTadjective

   Grown up; past the age of infancy and weakness.

   Etymology: adultus, Lat.

   They would appear less able to approve themselves, not only to the confessor, but even to the catechist, in their adult age, than they were in their minority; as having scarce ever thought of the principles of their religion, since they conned them to avoid correction. Decay of Piety.

   The earth, by these applauded schools, ’tis said,
   This single crop of men and women bred;
   Who grown adult, (so chance, it seems, enjoin’d)
   Did, male and female, propagate their kind. Richard Blackmore.

2. Adultnoun

   A person above the age of infancy, or grown to some degree of strength; sometimes full grown: a word used chiefly by medicinal writers.

   The depression of the cranium, without a fracture, can but seldom occur; and then it happens to children, whose bones are more pliable and soft than those of adults. Samuel Sharp, Surgery.

Wikipedia(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Adult

   Biologically, an adult is a human or other organism that has reached sexual maturity. In human context, the term adult additionally has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a "minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of majority and is therefore regarded as independent, self-sufficient, and responsible. The typical age of attaining legal adulthood is 18, although definition may vary by legal rights and country. Human adulthood encompasses psychological adult development. Definitions of adulthood are often inconsistent and contradictory; a person may be biologically an adult, and have adult behavior but still be treated as a child if they are under the legal age of majority. Conversely, one may legally be an adult but possess none of the maturity and responsibility that may define an adult character. In different cultures there are events that relate passing from being a child to becoming an adult or coming of age. This often encompasses the passing a series of tests to demonstrate that a person is prepared for adulthood, or reaching a specified age, sometimes in conjunction with demonstrating preparation. Most modern societies determine legal adulthood based on reaching a legally specified age without requiring a demonstration of physical maturity or preparation for adulthood.

Webster Dictionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Adultadjective

   having arrived at maturity, or to full size and strength; matured; as, an adult person or plant; an adult ape; an adult age

2. Adultnoun

   a person, animal, or plant grown to full size and strength; one who has reached maturity

3. Etymology: [L. adultus, p. p. of adolescere, akin to alere to nourish: cf. F. adulte. See Adolescent, Old.]

Freebase(4.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Adult

   Biologically, an adult is a human being or other organism that is of reproductive age. In human context, the term adult additionally has meanings associated with social and legal concepts; for example, a legal adult is a legal concept for a person who has attained the age of majority and is therefore regarded as independent, self-sufficient, and responsible. In addition, human adulthood encompasses psychological adult development. Definitions of adulthood are often inconsistent and contradictory; a person may be biologically an adult, and have adult behavior but still be treated as a child if they are under the legal age of majority. Conversely, one may legally be an adult but possess none of the maturity and responsibility that may define adult character. An event relating to the oncoming of adulthood is coming of age, which encompasses passing a series of tests to demonstrate that a person is prepared for adulthood, or reaching a specified age, sometimes in conjunction with demonstrating preparation. Most modern societies determine legal adulthood based on reaching a legally specified age without requiring a demonstration of physical maturity or preparation for adulthood.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Adult

   ad-ult′, adj. grown: mature.—n. a grown-up person.—n. Adult′ness. [L. adultus—adolescĕre, to grow. See Adolescent.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine(2.50 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Adult

   A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age.

Editors Contribution(2.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. adult

   A person of a known specific age defined in legislation.

   In some countries the defined legal age of an adult is 16, in other countries it is 18.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on February 16, 2020  

Entomology(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Adult

   the stage when an insect is sexually mature and ready to reproduce normally.

Matched Categories

1. • Person

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'adult' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2240

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'adult' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3659

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'adult' in Nouns Frequency: #601

Anagrams for adult »

1. dulat

How to pronounce adult?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say adult in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of adult in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of adult in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of adult in a Sentence

1. Rochelle McNamara:

   Then we got the email, and I was just like, I do n’t understand where an adult who’s driving a bus gets an idea that that is okay.

2. Camila Alvarez:

   She's a young adult, being 18 in a new country where you probably just fled violence... don't know the language. Eighteen is not a sufficient age to be able to see for yourself like that.

3. H. G. Wells:

   Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.

4. Melania Trump:

   We are both very independent -- I let him be who he is and he let me be who I am, i don't try to change him. He's an adult. He knows the consequences and so I let him be who he is. I give him my opinions, many, many times.

5. Teresa Downing-Matibag:

   Dressing girls like grown women for Halloween communicates that they have the sexuality of adults, in the bodies of children, while little girls themselves likely have very little awareness of adult or even adolescent sexuality, or what sex is really about, the adults who are seeing them on the streets do. We are also communicating to adults that little girls are sexually appealing, and this message has tragic implications for their vulnerability to sexual abuse.

Popularity rank by frequency of use