Definitions for adult
əˈdʌlt, ˈæd ʌltadult

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. adult, grownup(noun)

   a fully developed person from maturity onward

2. adult(adj)

   any mature animal

3. adult, big, full-grown, fully grown, grown, grownup(adj)

   (of animals) fully developed

   "an adult animal"; "a grown woman"

4. pornographic, adult(adj)

   designed to arouse lust

   "pornographic films and magazines"; "adult movies"

Wiktionary(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. adult(Noun)

   A fully grown human or animal.

2. adult(Noun)

   A person who lives outside the parental home.

3. adult(Noun)

   A person whose parents are deceased.

4. adult(Adjective)

   Of a human or animal, fully grown.

5. adult(Adjective)

   Intended for adults rather than children.

   adult clothes

6. adult(Adjective)

   Containing material of an explicit sexual nature

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

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Adult(adj)

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

2. Adult(noun)

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

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

Freebase(4.00 / 1 vote)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(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Adult

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

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

How to pronounce adult?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

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. Jean Rostand:

   To be an adult is to be alone.

2. Barack Obama:

   What Washington needs is adult supervision.

3. Orla Kelleher:

   This is where I became an adult, my life is here.

4. Cristian Andrei Nica:

   A child learns by growing, an adult learns to grow.

5. Ohio Gov. John Kasich:

   People say, everywhere I go, you seem to be the adult on stage.

Images & Illustrations of adult

Popularity rank by frequency of use