Definition of "adulthood" in English

noun

1. The state or condition, for humans and other animals, of physical and psychological maturity: being an adult.

   • Meronyms: young adulthood; emerging adulthood (sometimes construed as coordinate)
   • Adulthood enables us to survive in the wilderness.

2. The time period of a person's majority, following puberty and lasting until death.

   • Meronyms: young adulthood; emerging adulthood (sometimes construed as coordinate)
   • The boy entered adulthood by undergoing a rite of passage.
   • The things learned in childhood affect us throughout our adulthood.