young adult

adjective

: of, relating to, or being a category of fiction that is primarily intended for adolescent readers

young adult fiction/literature

We live in an era of blockbuster young adult book series: Harry Potter, Twilight, now the Hunger Games.—Leah Wilson

Early in her four-year career as the young adult librarian of the Huckaby Public Library, Veronica Garde observed that most of the staff had a sliding scale of courtesy toward library users, teenagers being given the shortest shrift.—A. J. Anderson

—abbreviation YA

Examples of young adult in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

He’d gotten baptized and was joining young adult and men’s groups. — Dateline Nbc, NBC news, 30 July 2026 Kate's Club's young adult program, called LoKate, offers continuous grief and mental health support in addition to community connection for young adults aged 18-30. — Kaley Fedko, CBS News, 30 July 2026 And in the first quarter of 2026, the program scored its best young adult ratings in more than eight years. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 29 July 2026 Their plan is for Storyteller to publish 20-30 titles annually across children’s, young adult, adult fiction, fantasy, memoir and graphic novels. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 27 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for young adult

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of young adult was in 1942

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Young adult.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/young%20adult. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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young adult

adjective

Examples of young adult in a Sentence

Word History

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