Young definition | Dictionary.com

young

[yuhng]

adjective, young⋅er [yuhng-ger]

, young⋅est [yuhng-gist]

, noun

Use Young in a Sentence

–adjective

1.	being in the first or early stage of life or growth; youthful; not old: a young woman.

2.	having the appearance, freshness, vigor, or other qualities of youth.

3.	of or pertaining to youth: in one's young days.

4.	inexperienced or immature.

5.	not far advanced in years in comparison with another or others.

6.	junior, as applied to the younger of two persons having the same name: the young Mr. Smith.

7.	being in an early stage generally, as of existence, progress, operation, development, or maturity; new; early: a young wine; It is a young company, not yet firmly established.

8.	representing or advocating recent or progressive tendencies, policies, or the like.

–noun

9.	those who have youth; young persons collectively: the educated young of today; a game for young and old.

10.	young offspring: a mother hen protecting her young.

—Idiom

11.	with young, (of an animal) pregnant.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME yong(e), OE geong; c. D jong, G jung, ON ungr, Goth jungs; akin to L juvenis

Synonyms:
1. growing. Young, youthful, juvenile all refer to lack of age. Young is the general word for that which is undeveloped, immature, and in process of growth: a young colt, child; young shoots of wheat. Youthful has connotations suggesting the favorable characteristics of youth, such as vigor, enthusiasm, and hopefulness: youthful sports, energy, outlook. Juvenile may suggest less desirable characteristics, such as childishness, petulance, idleness, selfishness, or heedlessness (juvenile behavior), or it may refer simply to the years, up to the later teens, before legal responsibility: juvenile delinquency; juvenile court; juvenile books.

Antonyms:
1. mature, old.

Young

[yuhng]

–noun

1.	Andrew (Jackson, Jr.), born 1932, U.S. clergyman, civil-rights leader, politician, and diplomat: mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, since 1981.

2.	Art(hur Henry), 1866–1944, U.S. cartoonist and author.

3.	Brigham, 1801–77, U.S. leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

4.	Charles, 1864–1922, U.S. army colonel: highest-ranking black officer in World War I.

5.	Denton T. (Cy), 1867–1955, U.S. baseball player.

6.	Edward, 1683–1765, English poet.

7.	Ella, 1867–1956, Irish poet and mythologist in the U.S.

8.	Lester Willis (“Pres”; “Prez”), 1909–59, U.S. jazz tenor saxophonist.

9.	Owen D., 1874–1962, U.S. lawyer, industrialist, government administrator, and financier.

10.	Stark, 1881–1963, U.S. drama critic, novelist, and playwright.

11.	Thomas, 1773–1829, English physician, physicist, mathematician, and Egyptologist.

12.	Whitney M., Jr., 1921–71, U.S. social worker and educator: executive director of the National Urban League 1961–71.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To Young

young (yŭng)

adj. young·er, young·est

Being in an early period of life, development, or growth.
Newly begun or formed; not advanced: The evening is still young.
Of, belonging to, or suggestive of youth or early life: He is young for his age.
Vigorous or fresh; youthful.
Lacking experience; immature: a young hand at plowing.
Being the junior of two people having the same name.
Geology Being of an early stage in a geologic cycle. Used of bodies of water and land formations.

Young persons considered as a group; youth: entertainment for the young.
Offspring; brood: a lioness with her young.

[Middle English yong, from Old English geong; see yeu- in Indo-European roots.]
young'ness n.

Synonyms: These adjectives mean of, relating to, characteristic of, or being in an early period of growth or development. Young is the most general of the terms: a young child.
Youthful suggests characteristics, such as enthusiasm, freshness, or energy, that are associated with youth: youthful ardor.
Adolescent specifically implies the characteristics of those in the period between childhood and maturity: adolescent insecurity.
Immature applies to what is not yet fully developed; it sometimes suggests that someone falls short of an expected level of maturity: an emotionally immature adult.
Juvenile connotes immaturity, often childishness: the juvenile pranks of the conventioneers.
Puerile is used derogatorily to suggest silliness, foolishness, or infantilism: a puerile joke.
Green implies lack of training or experience and sometimes callowness: green recruits who couldn't deal with the emergency.

Young (yŭng)

American diplomat and politician. He served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (1977-1979) and as mayor of Atlanta (1981-1989).

Young, Brigham 1801-1877.
American religious leader who directed the Mormon Church after the assassination (1844) of its founder, Joseph Smith. He led an exodus of the Mormons from their troubled settlement in Illinois to the site of present-day Salt Lake City, Utah, where they established a permanent home for the church (1847).

Young, Denton True Known as "Cy." 1867-1955.
American baseball player. A pitcher for 22 seasons, he won 511 games, including 76 shutouts and 3 no-hit games.

Young, Edward 1683-1765.
English poet known for his dramatic monologue Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality (1742-1745).

Young, Lester Willis Known as "Pres." 1909-1959.
American jazz musician with an improvisational, influental tenor saxophone style.

Young, Thomas 1773-1829.
British physician, physicist, and Egyptologist who revived the wave theory of light and postulated the three-color theory of color vision. He also helped decipher the hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone.

Young, Whitney Moore, Jr. 1921-1971.
American civil rights leader who was executive director of the National Urban League (1961-1971).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Young

Young\ (y[u^]ng), a. [Compar. Younger (y[u^][ng]"g[~e]r); superl. Youngest (-g[e^]st).] [OE. yung, yong, [yogh]ong, [yogh]ung, AS. geong; akin to OFries. iung, iong, D. joing, OS., OHG., & G. jung, Icel. ungr, Sw. & Dan. ung, Goth. juggs, Lith. jaunas, Russ. iunuii, L. juvencus, juvenis, Skr. juva[,c]a, juvan. [root]281. Cf. Junior, Juniper, Juvenile, Younker, Youth.]

1. Not long born; still in the first part of life; not yet arrived at adolescence, maturity, or age; not old; juvenile; -- said of animals; as, a young child; a young man; a young fawn.

For he so young and tender was of age. --Chaucer.

"Whom the gods love, die young," has been too long carelessly said; . . . whom the gods love, live young forever. --Mrs. H. H. Jackson.

2. Being in the first part, pr period, of growth; as, a young plant; a young tree.

While the fears of the people were young. --De Foe.

3. Having little experience; inexperienced; unpracticed; ignorant; weak.

Come, come, elder brother, you are too young in this. --Shak.

Young

Young\, n. The offspring of animals, either a single animal or offspring collectively.

[The egg] bursting with kindly rupture, forth disclosed Their callow young. --Milton.

With young, with child; pregnant.

Language Translation for : Young

Spanish: joven,

German: jung,

Japanese: 若い

More Translations »

young (adj.)

O.E. geong "youthful, young," from P.Gmc. *jungas (cf. O.S., O.Fris. jung, O.N. ungr, M.Du. jonc, Du. jong, O.H.G., Ger. jung, Goth. juggs), from PIE *juwngkos, from PIE base *yeu- "vital force, youthful vigor" (cf. Skt. yuva "young," L. juvenis "young," Lith. jaunas, O.C.S. junu, Rus. junyj "young," O.Ir. oac, Welsh ieuanc "young"). The noun meaning "young animals collectively, offspring" is first attested 1484. Youngster is first attested 1589 (earlier was youngling, from O.E. geongling). From c.1830-1850, Young France, Young Italy, etc., loosely applied to "republican agitators" in various monarchies; also, esp. in Young England, Young America, used generally for "typical young person of the nation." For Young Turk, see Turk.

Main Entry: young
Pronunciation: 'y&[ng]
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural young
1 : immature offspring especially oflower animals
2 : a single recently born or hatched animal —with young : PREGNANT—used of a female animal

Young (yŭng), John. Born 1907.

British biologist whose experiments with the giant nerve cells of squid have contributed to the knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of nerves.

Young , Thomas. 1773-1829.

British physician and physicist who in 1801 postulated the three-color theory of color vision. Young also discovered (1801) astigmatism and described accommodation.

Young (yŭng) Pronunciation Key
British physicist and physician who is best known for his contributions to the wave theory of light and his discovery of how the lens of the human eye changes shape to focus on objects of different distances. He also studied surface tension and elasticity, and Young's modulus (a measure of the rigidity of materials) is named for him. He is also credited with the first scientific definition of the word energy.

Search another word or see Young on Thesaurus | Reference

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Advertise with Us · Link to Us · NASCAR® · Contact Us