young

Formsyounger, youngest

Pluralyoung, youngs

Formsyoungs, younging, younged

1. 1
   early in lifeadjective

   Having lived or existed for only a short time; in an early stage of life, growth or development.

   A young calf stayed close to its mother in the pasture.

   She was still young when she first learned to swim.

   UsageCompare with younger than and the youngest; before groups: young people, young children.

   Similaryouthful, little, juvenile

   Oppositeold, mature, elderly, aged

   Note

   Wordsworth's "to be young was very heaven" shows it standing alone after a verb, where it names a whole season of life. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Wordsworth wrote “to be young was very heaven.” en.wikisource.org
2. 2
   adjective

   Belonging to or characteristic of the early part of life.

   She still remembered the thrill of young love: the notes passed in class and the long phone calls at night.

   Looking through old photos, he realized how much of his young life had been spent on the baseball field.

   UsageBefore nouns for times or feelings: young love, his young life, in her young days.

   Similaryouthful, juvenile, early

   Oppositemature

3. 3
   adjective

   Having the look or qualities of a young person; youthful.

   Her energy and curiosity kept her spirit young into her eighties.

   The actor maintained a young appearance well into middle age.

   UsageOften young for one's age or young at heart.

   Similaryouthful, fresh, vigorous

   Oppositeold, aged

   Note

   Here age and appearance part company. A grandmother can be "quite young for her age," meaning she seems younger than the literal sense would make her. When The Economist wrote of bright young things in jeans in 2013, the phrase showed the word describing energy and style as much as years. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The Economist used the phrase “bright young things in jeans” in 2013. en.wiktionary.org
   • The cited passage describes people wearing jeans. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   noun

   The offspring of an animal, especially the immature ones.

   A wolf will defend its young against any intruder.

   Some cichlid mothers keep their young in their mouths, letting them out to feed and taking them back in when danger comes near.

   UsageUsually plural in meaning and without s: a bird feeds its young; the lion's young are curious.

   Similaroffspring, babies, brood, progeny

   Note

   A noun that usually behaves as a plural: the lion's young are curious, and a wolf defends its young. Yet Mammal Anatomy: An Illustrated Guide (2010) writes "her young is ready to be weaned," treating a single offspring as singular. A rarer plural form, youngs, also exists alongside the unchanged young. In older and literary writing, with young means pregnant, said of an animal: a ewe heavy with young. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The named book contains “her young is ready to be weaned,” using singular agreement; Wiktionary reproduces this wording and attributes it to page 21. en.wiktionary.org
   • Older writing uses “with young” for pregnant animals, including ewes. gutenberg.org
5. 5
   noun

   People in the early part of life, taken collectively as one group, used with the definite article.

   The town built a skate park because it had so little to offer the young.

   Rising rents have hit the young especially hard in big cities.

   UsageTakes a plural verb: the young are (not incorrect: the youngs). For one person, say a young person.

   Similaryouth

   Oppositeold, elderly

   Note

   Animal parents have young of their own, a separate noun that works without the article, as in a bird feeding its young.

6. 6
   adjective

   Junior; being the younger of two related people who share the same name.

   Young Mr. Carter signs the contracts now that his father has retired.

   With two William Harts in the family, the boy was known as young William and his grandfather as old William.

   UsageBefore a name, often with the: young Tom, the young Mr. Carter; its partner is old.

   Similarjunior

   Oppositesenior, elder

   Note

   This is a way of telling a son from a father, or any younger namesake from an elder, without adding Jr. In Charles Dickens's Barnaby Rudge (1841), Mrs. Varden weighs "the young Mr Chester" against "the old Mr Chester," meaning the son and his father. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Charles Dickens wrote Barnaby Rudge. en.wikipedia.org
   • Barnaby Rudge was first published in 1841. en.wikipedia.org
   • The quoted phrases occur in the narrator's account of Mrs Varden's thoughts about the two Chesters. gutenberg.org
   • The younger Chester is the elder Chester's son. gutenberg.org

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