1
a
: being in the first or an early stage of life, growth, or development
b
c
: of an early, tender, or desirable age for use as food or drink
fresh young lamb
a young wine
2
: having little experience
3
a
: recently come into being : new
a young publishing company
b
4
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of youth or a young person
young at heart
5
capitalized
: representing a new or rejuvenated especially political group or movement
plural young
1
2
: a single recently born or hatched animal
Synonyms
Examples of young in a Sentence
Adjective
He looks young for his age.
A very nice young man greeted us at the door.
Young people today have a lot of opportunities.
He dreamed of being an artist when he was young.
The movie isn't suitable for young viewers.
He's still too young to buy alcohol legally.
Our youngest daughter just started school.
“When I was young,” the man said, “the world was a different place.”
The season is still young.
Noun
music that appeals to the young
The very young and the elderly are particularly sensitive to the disease.
a robin feeding her young
The young of a wolf are called pups.
Recent Examples on the Web
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024
And Bob Myers’ front office had a preference for higher-upside, younger players like Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
One of the key dramatic elements of the series’ early stretches and the possibly main plot driver of the whole of the series is the first mature love of two young people.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
First Omen hopes to lure younger female moviegoers as well.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2024
Absolutely and young people and old people alike should understand that.
—Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 5 Apr. 2024
The main problem for young people, but also for adults, is not knowing themselves enough.
—Billboard Italy, Billboard, 5 Apr. 2024
Of course, help is available to young people from all over.
—Rick Mauch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2024
Nonetheless Spurs coach Gregg Popovich recently said Graham is a team leader for a young, rebuilding squad that has an 18-58 record.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Following up on past observations that caecilian broods spend a lot of time around the maternal vent, Jared, Antoniazzi, and their co-researchers collected 16 female caecilians and their young from beneath the forest floor of cacao plantations.
—Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024
The studious young aimed to be au courant—not to change reality or even understand it, but to win college debates and take competitive exams for public sector jobs.
—Anjum Hasan, The New York Review of Books, 28 Dec. 2023
Photograph: Andrew Hetherington Cameron young slides a driver from his bag.
—WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023
By 1986, Lampley was ringside in upstate New York broadcasting young Mike Tyson’s destruction of veteran Jesse Ferguson.
—Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2023
Researchers warn the shift can have dire consequences for animals like penguins who breed and rear their young on the sea ice, while also hastening global warming by reducing how much sunlight is reflected by white ice back into space.
—Reuters, NBC News, 26 Sep. 2023
However, this is the SEC and starting that young is difficult.
—Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 2 Sep. 2023
Simmons: There’s an effort to anger and divide our nation, and the indoctrination of our young to support that effort must stop.
—Beth Mlady, cleveland, 8 Sep. 2023
Adjective
Riley Keough portrays the group’s only female, who’s raising a lively and inquisitive young Sasquatch, played by Christophe Zajac-Denek.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024
And Bob Myers’ front office had a preference for higher-upside, younger players like Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
One of the key dramatic elements of the series’ early stretches and the possibly main plot driver of the whole of the series is the first mature love of two young people.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
First Omen hopes to lure younger female moviegoers as well.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2024
Absolutely and young people and old people alike should understand that.
—Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 5 Apr. 2024
The main problem for young people, but also for adults, is not knowing themselves enough.
—Billboard Italy, Billboard, 5 Apr. 2024
Of course, help is available to young people from all over.
—Rick Mauch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2024
Nonetheless Spurs coach Gregg Popovich recently said Graham is a team leader for a young, rebuilding squad that has an 18-58 record.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Noun
The ants feed the leaves to a species of fungus that doubles as their home; in turn, the ants feed the fungus to their own young.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Following up on past observations that caecilian broods spend a lot of time around the maternal vent, Jared, Antoniazzi, and their co-researchers collected 16 female caecilians and their young from beneath the forest floor of cacao plantations.
—Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024
The studious young aimed to be au courant—not to change reality or even understand it, but to win college debates and take competitive exams for public sector jobs.
—Anjum Hasan, The New York Review of Books, 28 Dec. 2023
Photograph: Andrew Hetherington Cameron young slides a driver from his bag.
—WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023
By 1986, Lampley was ringside in upstate New York broadcasting young Mike Tyson’s destruction of veteran Jesse Ferguson.
—Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2023
Researchers warn the shift can have dire consequences for animals like penguins who breed and rear their young on the sea ice, while also hastening global warming by reducing how much sunlight is reflected by white ice back into space.
—Reuters, NBC News, 26 Sep. 2023
However, this is the SEC and starting that young is difficult.
—Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 2 Sep. 2023
Simmons: There’s an effort to anger and divide our nation, and the indoctrination of our young to support that effort must stop.
—Beth Mlady, cleveland, 8 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'young.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English yong, from Old English geong; akin to Old High German jung young, Latin juvenis
First Known Use
Adjective
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of young was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing young
Articles Related to young
Dictionary Entries Near young
Cite this Entry
“Young.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/young. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
young
1 of 2 adjective1
a
: being in the early stage of life, growth, or development
2
: lacking in experience
3
: recently come into being : new
young rock strata
4
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of youth or a young person
young at heart
young
2 of 2 noun plural1
: young persons : youth
music that appeals to the young
2
: immature or recently born offspring
a bear and her young
Medical Definition
young
noun
plural young
1
: immature offspring
—used especially of animals
2
: a single recently born or hatched animal
Biographical Definition
Young
2 of 6biographical name (2)
Brig*ham
ˈbri-gəm 
1801–1877 American Mormon leader
1801–1877 American Mormon leader
Young
3 of 6biographical name (3)
Cy originally Denton True Young 1867–1955 American baseball player
Young
4 of 6biographical name (4)
Michael W(arren) 1949– American geneticist
Young
5 of 6biographical name (5)
Owen D. 1874–1962 American lawyer
Young
6 of 6biographical name (6)
Whitney Moore 1921–1971 American civil rights leader
More from Merriam-Webster on young
Nglish: Translation of young for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of young for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about young
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