adult

adult — noun

1. someone who is no longer a child — old enough to vote, marry, or be held respons

1.nounA1
Definition

someone who is no longer a child — old enough to vote, marry, or be held responsible by law — or, of an animal, one that has finished growing.

Example

Tickets cost $12 for adults and $6 for children under twelve.

countable noun: 'adults' contrasted with 'children'

By the time Imani turned eighteen, she was legally an adult in Taiwan.

be + an + adult (legal sense)

Common collocations
  • young adult
  • consenting adult
  • responsible adult
  • adult and child
Synonyms
  • grown-up

    informal, used mostly by or to children

  • man

    specific to adult males; 'adult' is gender-neutral

  • woman

    specific to adult females; 'adult' is gender-neutral

Antonyms
  • child

    young human who has not finished growing

  • minor

    legal term for a person below the age of majority

Usage Note

Used for both humans and animals, but the legal-responsibility meaning applies only to people. With animals, the focus is on having reached full body size.

Common Mistakes

My dog is now an adult man.
My dog is now an adult.
for animals, just say 'an adult'; don't add 'man' or 'woman'.
When I become adult, I will travel.
When I become an adult, I will travel.
countable noun, needs the article 'an'.

adult — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Adult' is the neutral, all-purpose word — it works for people and animals, in everyday talk, in news writing, and in legal or medical settings ('the patient is an adult'). 'Grown-up' is the informal version, used most often by or to children: a six-year-old says 'when I'm a grown-up'; a lawyer would say 'when she becomes an adult'. 'Man' and 'woman' name the gender as well as the age, so they are narrower than 'adult'. 'Minor' is the legal opposite of 'adult' — a person below the age set by law (usually eighteen). So at a cinema you might see: 'Adults $12, children $6'; at home a parent might say 'Stop arguing — be a grown-up'; in court a judge says 'The minor will be tried separately from the adults'.

adult ↗grown-upman ↗woman ↗minor ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • adult life
  • adult population
  • adult education
  • adult content
  • young adult

Adverbs

Phrases

  • young adult
  • consenting adult
  • responsible adult
  • act like an adult

Prepositions

  • adult of (a species)
  • for adults
  • between adults

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Comes from Latin 'adultus', the past-participle form of 'adolescere', meaning 'to grow up' — the same root that gives us 'adolescent'. The word entered English in the 1500s through French, first as an adjective meaning 'fully grown' and soon afterwards as a noun for the grown person themselves. So 'adolescent' and 'adult' are the two ends of the same growing-up process, with the 'ad-' meaning 'toward' and the rest of the word meaning 'grow'.