youngest

Pluralyoungests

1. 1
   adjective

   Superlative of young.

   Of all the volcanoes in the chain, that one is the youngest.

   The youngest member of the committee proposed the boldest changes.

   Note

   A plain superlative built with -est, so it never needs "most" in front of it. It ranks three or more things. When only two are compared, younger does the job: the younger of the twins. It nearly always takes the. Like young, it measures more than people's ages, so a volcano or a committee member can be the youngest of its set.

2. 2
   noun

   The child in a family, or person in a group, who is lower in age than all the rest.

   Being the youngest, he was the last of his siblings to leave home.

   Among the five cousins, the youngest eventually inherited the farm.

   Similarbaby

   Oppositeeldest, oldest

   Note

   The adjective turned into a noun, and it almost always stands behind the. Pair it with of or in to name the group: the youngest of five, the youngest in the class. It can even take a plural, youngests, when several families or groups each have their own youngest. That form is rare, but it is fine when the sense calls for it.

3. 3
   adjective

   Most recently begun or formed, compared with others of the same kind.

   This fault line is the youngest geological feature in the basin.

   The youngest of the political parties already holds several seats in parliament.

   Similarnewest, latest

   Oppositeoldest

4. 4
   adjective

   In card games, describing the player who receives dealt cards last, the one served just before the dealing comes back around to the eldest.

   The cards went around the table one at a time, and the youngest hand was always the last to be served.

   Once the youngest player had taken her card, the dealer went back to the eldest and began the next circuit.

   Oppositeeldest

   Note

   The card table borrows the language of birth order. The player served first is the eldest hand, the one served last is the youngest, and the next round starts again at the eldest. In games dealt from the dealer's left, the dealer serves themselves last and so is often the youngest hand. Nobody's age is meant, so keep it apart from the ordinary age meaning.

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