Puberty is the stage in someone's life when their body starts to become physically mature.
Margaret had reached the age of puberty.
Synonyms: adolescence, teenage, teens, young adulthood More Synonyms of puberty
puberty in British English
(ˈpjuːbətɪ)
noun
the period at the beginning of adolescence when the sex glands become functional and the secondary sexual characteristics emerge
Also called: pubescence ▶ Related adjective: hebetic
Derived forms
pubertal (ˈpubertal)
adjective
Word origin
C14: from Latin pūbertās maturity, from pūber adult
puberty in American English
(ˈpjubərti)
noun
the stage of physical development when secondary sex characteristics develop and sexual reproduction first becomes possible: in common law, the age of puberty is generally fixed at fourteen for boys and twelve for girls
Derived forms
pubertal (ˈpubertal)
adjective
Word origin
ME puberte < L pubertas < puber, of ripe age, adult, prob. akin to puer, boy
Synonyms of 'puberty'
adolescence, teenage, teens, young adulthood
More Synonyms of puberty
In other languages
puberty
British English: puberty NOUN
Puberty is the stage in someone's life when their body starts to become physically mature.
He had reached the age of puberty.
American English: puberty
Brazilian Portuguese: puberdade
Chinese: 青春期
European Spanish: pubertad
French: puberté
German: Pubertät
Italian: pubertà
Japanese: 思春期
Korean: 사춘기
European Portuguese: puberdade
Latin American Spanish: pubertad
Chinese translation of 'puberty'
puberty
(ˈpjuːbətɪ)
n(u)
青春期 (qīngchūnqī)
(noun)
Definition
the beginning of sexual maturity
Lucy had reached the age of puberty.
Synonyms
adolescence
Some young people suddenly become tongue-tied in early adolescence.