An adult is a mature, fully developed person. An adult has reached the age when they are legallyresponsible for their actions.
Becoming a father signified that he was now an adult.
Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
Synonyms: grown-up, mature person, person of mature age, grown or grown-up person More Synonyms of adult
2. countable noun [oft NOUN noun]
An adult is a fully developed animal.
...a pair of adult birds.
3. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Adult means relating to the time when you are an adult, or typical of adult people.
I've lived most of my adult life in London.
4. adjective [verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If you say that someone is adult about something, you think that they act in a mature, intelligent way, especially when faced with a difficult situation.
[approval]
We were very adult about it. We discussed it rationally over a drink.
...dealing with emerging sexuality in an adult way.
5. adjective
You can describe things such as films or books as adult when they deal with sex in a very clear and open way.
...an adult movie.
More Synonyms of adult
adult in British English
(ˈædʌlt, əˈdʌlt)
adjective
1.
having reached maturity; fully developed
2.
of or intended for mature people
adult education
3.
regarded as suitable only for adults, because of being pornographic
adult films and magazines
noun
4.
a person who has attained maturity; a grownup
5.
a mature fully grown animal or plant
6. law
a person who has attained the age of legal majority (18 years for most purposes)
Compare infant
verb
7. (intransitive) informal
to live or behave like an adult, esp by being responsible and independent
Derived forms
adulthood (ˈadulthood)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Latin adultus, from adolēscere to grow up, from alēscere to grow, from alēre to feed, nourish
adult in American English
(əˈdʌlt; ˈædˌʌlt)
adjective
1.
grown up; mature in age, size, strength, etc.
2.
of or for adult persons
an adult novel
3.
containing or providing pornography
adult movies
noun
4.
a man or woman who is fully grown up; mature person
5.
an animal or plant that is fully developed
6.
a person who has reached the age of majority, now generally 18 years
SIMILAR WORDS: ripe
Derived forms
adulthood (aˈdulthood)
noun
adultness (aˈdultness)
noun
Word origin
L adultus, pp. of adolescere: see adolescent
Examples of 'adult' in a sentence
adult
This matter has in effect plagued me my entire adult life.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Two in three adults are now overweight or obese.
The Sun (2016)
Be firm that they must find somewhere else to live unless they behave like responsible adults.
The Sun (2017)
These pressures have fuelled an exodus of young adults moving abroad.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
This is an adult person and a person who has spent many years organising beauty contests.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
One in ten adults say they would move home if it looked like their property was haunted.
The Sun (2016)
As only some people will need adult social care, it has been tempting for ministers to let the care system slip.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
So be a mature, respectful adult and do the decent thing: decant it into a dark bottle that looks like a soft drink.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Virtually his entire adult life was spent away from home extending the empire.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Your daughter is an adult now and responsible for shaping her own life.
The Sun (2010)
Watch the way the adults act and the way they treat their son.
Christianity Today (2000)
These adults are any people in our young life who take on the parental role.
Mansfield, Patricia Why Am I Afraid to be Assertive? (1994)
The research also looked at the ages by which adults felt they had mastered different dishes.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Yet there is sufficient width for two adults pushing their bikes to pass in opposite directions.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It was also unashamedly aimed at an adult audience.
The Sun (2008)
If you treat them as adults they will usually behave in a mature and adult manner.
Aiken, Nick Working with Teenagers (1994)
We fitted in some more adult time too.
The Sun (2011)
You need to be the adult in this situation.
The Sun (2014)
They freed the comic format from childish preoccupations and made it fit for intelligent adults.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The trauma of abuse continued into her adult life.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Universities need to go further to help students to grow into responsible adults and employees.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This is recognised in an adult way as politically and socially necessary.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Or played too many adult movies.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
adult
British English: adult /ˈædʌlt; əˈdʌlt/ NOUN
An adult is a mature, fully developed person. An adult has reached the age when they are legally responsible for their actions.
Becoming a father signified that he was now an adult.
American English: adult
Arabic: بَالِغ mature
Brazilian Portuguese: adulto
Chinese: 成年人
Croatian: odrasla osoba
Czech: dospělý muž
Danish: voksen
Dutch: volwassene
European Spanish: adulto
Finnish: aikuinen
French: adulte
German: Erwachsener
Greek: ενήλικος
Italian: adulto
Japanese: 大人
Korean: 성인
Norwegian: voksen
Polish: dorosły
European Portuguese: adulto
Romanian: adult
Russian: взрослый
Latin American Spanish: adulto
Swedish: vuxen
Thai: ผู้ใหญ่
Turkish: yetişkin
Ukrainian: дорослий
Vietnamese: người trưởng thành
British English: adult ADJECTIVE
Adult means relating to the time when you are an adult, or typical of adult people.
I've lived most of my adult life in this town.
American English: adult
Brazilian Portuguese: adulto
Chinese: 成年人的
European Spanish: adulto
French: adulte
German: erwachsen
Italian: adulto
Japanese: 大人の
Korean: 성인의
European Portuguese: adulto
Latin American Spanish: adulto
All related terms of 'adult'
adult child
A child is a human being who is not yet an adult .
adult life
You can use life to refer to a period of someone's life when they are in a particular situation or job .
young adult
an age group including persons from about 12 years to about 18 years old: used as a reader category in libraries , book publishing , etc.
adult prison
A prison is a building where criminals are kept as punishment or where people accused of a crime are kept before their trial .
adult education
Adult education is education for adults in a variety of subjects , most of which are practical , not academic . Classes are often held in the evenings .
adult literacy
Literacy is the ability to read and write.
adult volunteer
A volunteer is someone who does work without being paid for it, because they want to do it.
adult population
If you refer to a particular type of population in a country or area, you are referring to all the people or animals of that type there.
adult relationship
A relationship is a close connection between two people, especially one involving romantic or sexual feelings.
consenting adult
a person over the age of sixteen who willingly engages in a sexual activity
adult onset diabetes
diabetes (sense 4 )
Adult Training Centre
a day centre, run by a local authority, for people with learning difficulties to gain work experience
adult education centre
a place where classes are held for adults
sudden adult death syndrome
the unexpected death of a young adult , usually due to undetected inherited heart disease
diabetes
Diabetes is a medical condition in which someone has too much sugar in their blood .
sudden cardiac death
the unexpected death of a young adult , usually due to undetected inherited heart disease
sudden death syndrome
the unexpected death of a young adult , usually due to undetected inherited heart disease
respiratory distress syndrome
an acute lung disease of the newborn , occurring primarily in premature babies and babies born to ill mothers, characterized by rapid breathing , flaring of the nostrils , inelastic lungs, edema of the extremities , and in some cases the formation of a hyaline membrane on the lungs caused by a lack of surfactant in the immature lung tissue
Chinese translation of 'adult'
adult
(ˈædʌlt)
n(c)
(= person) 成年人 (chéngniánrén) (个(個), gè)
(= animal, bird, insect) 成体(體) (chéngtǐ)
adj
(= grown-up)[life]成年的 (chéngnián de)
[animal, bird, insect]成熟的 (chéngshú de)
(= for adults) 成人的 (chéngrén de)
(= explicit)[literature, film]色情的 (sèqíng de)
(= mature) 成熟的 (chéngshú de)
(noun)
Definition
a mature fully grown person, animal, or plant
Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
Synonyms
grown-up
Tell a grown-up if you're being bullied.
mature person
person of mature age
grown or grown-up person
man or woman
1 (adjective)
Definition
having reached maturity
a pair of adult birds
Synonyms
fully grown
mature
Here is the voice of a mature man, expressing sorrow for a lost ideal.
grown-up
Her grown-up children are all doing well in their chosen careers.
of age
ripe
Always choose firm but ripe fruit.
fully fledged
fully developed
full grown
2 (adjective)
Definition
sexually explicit
people working in the adult entertainment industry
Synonyms
pornographic
I found out he'd been watching pornographic videos.
blue (old-fashioned)
blue movies
dirty
He laughed at their dirty jokes.
offensive
sexy
erotic
passionate and erotic love poetry
porn (informal)
obscene
I'm no prude, but I think these photos are obscene.
taboo
filthy
The play was full of filthy foul language.
indecent
She accused him of making indecent suggestions.
sensual
He was a very sensual person.
hard-core
the availability of hard-core images online
lewd
The embattled mayor apologized for making lewd remarks to reporters.
carnal (formal)
Their passion became inflamed and their carnal desires ran wild.
porno (informal)
X-rated (informal)
salacious (formal)
a wildly salacious novel
prurient (formal)
the film's harshly prurient and cynical sex scenes
smutty
She said she detested smutty jokes.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of blue
Definition
pornographic
blue movies
Synonyms
smutty,
dirty,
naughty,
obscene,
indecent,
vulgar,
lewd,
risqué,
X-rated (informal),
bawdy,
near the knuckle (informal)
in the sense of carnal
Definition
of a sexual or sensual nature
Their passion became inflamed and their carnal desires ran wild.