# adult

Pronunciation: US say "uh-DULT" /əˈdʌlt/; UK say "AD-ult" /ˈæd.ʌlt/

## Noun

1. A person who is fully grown or has reached the legal age of majority; also, an animal that has reached full growth.
   - Simple: A grown-up person, legally old enough to have full rights. Also a fully grown animal.
   - _Only an adult can rent a car in most states._
   - _The survey counted adults separately from minors living in the same household._

## Adjective

2. Fully grown; having reached the final, mature stage of physical development.
   - Simple: Fully grown, having reached its full size and shape.
   - _Adult salmon return to the rivers where they hatched._
   - _The adult form of the dragonfly looks nothing like its aquatic larva._
3. Intended for or restricted to adults rather than children, or sometimes to anyone past early childhood, as with adult tickets or sizes.
   - Simple: Made for or meant for grown-ups, not children, like adult clothes or an adult ticket.
   - _The shelter mostly receives adult clothing and rarely anything in children's sizes._
   - _Adult education programs let people finish degrees they started decades ago._
4. Containing material of an explicit sexual nature; pornographic: a common euphemism in commercial labeling.
   - Simple: A polite way to say that a movie, book, or website shows sex.
   - _The hotel removed adult channels from its standard room package._
   - _He worked as a cameraman in the adult film industry for a decade._
6. Containing themes, situations, or language considered suitable only for mature audiences, such as violence, drug use, or profanity.
   - Simple: Having subjects or rude words that are meant only for grown-ups.
   - _Critics praised the cartoon for tackling surprisingly adult subject matter._
   - _The film earned its rating for adult themes rather than violence or language._
7. Euphemistic: containing alcohol or cannabis and intended only for adults of legal age, as in adult beverages.
   - Simple: A polite word for drinks or products with alcohol or cannabis, only for grown-ups.
   - _The brunch menu lists adult beverages on a separate page from the smoothies._
   - _She unwound on the porch with an adult beverage after the long drive._

## Verb

5. To behave like an adult; to take on the routine responsibilities of grown-up life. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To do the boring but needed jobs that grown-ups have to do.
   - _Some days I just can't adult, so the laundry waits until tomorrow._
   - _He adulted hard this weekend: taxes filed, oil changed, fridge actually stocked._
8. To become an adult, or to cause someone to become one. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: To grow into a grown-up, or to make someone become one.

## Origin

Latin adolescō meant "I grow up," and its perfect passive participle adultus meant "grown up." This came into English through French adulte. Compare adolescent.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/adult (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).