- 1 a fully grown person who is legally responsible for their actions synonym grown-up2 Children must be accompanied by an adult. Why can't you two act like civilized adults? Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveyoung, single, consenting, … adult + nouneducation, literacy, population, … See full entry See related entries: Middle age
- 2 a fully grown animal The fish return to the river as adults in order to breed. Word Originmid 16th cent.: from Latin adultus, past participle of adolescere ‘grow to maturity’, from ad- ‘to’ + alescere ‘grow, grow up’, from alere ‘nourish’.Extra examples I simply can’t believe that responsible adults allowed a child to wander the streets. The number of single adult households has doubled in the past 30 years. This book will definitely appeal to teenagers and young adults. What consenting adults do in private is their own business. Why can’t you two act like civilized adults?
noun jump to other results
BrE BrE//ˈædʌlt//; NAmE NAmE//ˈædʌlt//; BrE BrE//əˈdʌlt//; NAmE NAmE//əˈdʌlt//
Middle ageCheck pronunciation: adult
