Phrase guide

young man

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A term of endearment or admonishment by adults for a young boy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I can't understand you, young man. Can you point to which toy you want?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A male lover; a sweetheart.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see young, man.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: (male) youth

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a man who is the lover of a girl or young woman

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • if I'd known he was her boyfriend I wouldn't have asked

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: boyfriend, fellow, beau, swain

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: lover, man, adult male

5

noun

Meaning 5

a teenager or a young adult male

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: young buck

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: adolescent, stripling, teenager, teen, man, adult male

History

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English yong man, from Old English ġeong mann; by surface analysis, young + man. Compare yeoman.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: мла́ди чове́че (mládi čovéče) — term of address
  • Dutch: jongeman — term of address
  • Finnish: nuorukainen — term of address
  • French: jeune homme — term of address
  • German: junger Mann — term of address
  • Indonesian: anak muda — term of address
  • Polish: młody człowieku — term of address
  • Portuguese: mocinho — term of address
  • Russian: молодо́й челове́к (molodój čelovék) — term of address
  • Ukrainian: юна́к (junák) — term of address
  • Urdu: نَوجَوان (naujavān) — term of address