adult
adult — 名詞
- adultsingular
- adultsplural
1. someone who has finished growing — usually a person old enough to look after the
成人；成年人
已長大、法律上負起責任的人
someone who has finished growing — usually a person old enough to look after themselves, choose where to live, and pay their own bills; the same word is also used for animals that have stopped growing.
Every adult on the flight to Lisbon paid for a hot meal.
飛往里斯本的航班上，每位成人都付費點了一份熱餐。
countable singular: every adult
Anjali brought two adults and three children to the cooking class.
Anjali 帶了兩位成人和三個小孩來上烹飪課。
plural countable: two adults
By law in Taiwan, you are counted as an adult at the age of eighteen.
在台灣的法律中，你滿十八歲就算是成人。
be counted as an adult
Soraya is the only adult in our reading group who still draws pictures in her notebook.
Soraya 是我們讀書會裡唯一還會在筆記本上畫小圖的成人。
the only adult (singular reference)
An adult elephant can drink more than two hundred litres of water in one day.
一隻成年大象一天可以喝超過兩百公升的水。
an adult + animal noun
- young adult
- consenting adult
- adult ticket
- adult supervision
文法句型
adult + verb (singular/plural agreement)
用法筆記
Most often used of people; when used of animals, almost always paired with the animal noun (an adult tiger / an adult salmon).
常見錯誤
adult — 形容詞
- adultpositive
- more adultcomparative
- most adultsuperlative
1. having reached the size, age, or stage of life at which someone or something is
成年的
已長大、不再是幼齡階段的
having reached the size, age, or stage of life at which someone or something is no longer young — used before a noun.
Sayaka has now reached her adult height of one hundred and sixty-five centimetres.
Sayaka 現在已經長到她成年的身高一百六十五公分。
attributive: adult height
An adult salmon swims back up the river where it was born.
成年的鮭魚會沿著出生的河流游回上游。
attributive: adult + animal noun
Most of our adult patients prefer the morning clinic on Tuesdays.
我們大多數成年病人都較喜歡週二早上的門診。
attributive: adult patients (cross-people)
Andrés waited until he had grown his first adult tooth before smiling for the photo.
Andrés 等到長出第一顆成年牙齒後，才願意對著鏡頭微笑。
attributive: adult tooth (developmental)
- adult height
- adult tooth
- adult plumage
- adult patient
- grown
often paired with 'fully' for the same idea
- mature
scientific or formal, of bodies and plants
- full-grown
informal, often of animals
文法句型
adult + noun
用法筆記
Used before a noun (attributive). Cannot replace 'grown-up' in predicative position — say 'she is fully grown', not 'she is adult'.
常見錯誤
2. showing the calm, thoughtful behaviour we expect from someone old enough to take
成熟懂事的
言行負責、冷靜且有擔當的
showing the calm, thoughtful behaviour we expect from someone old enough to take responsibility — for example, talking through a problem instead of shouting.
Nora asked the children to be more adult about losing the football match.
Nora 要求孩子們面對輸掉足球比賽時要成熟一點。
be adult about + noun (predicative)
Selim made a very adult decision when he agreed to share the prize with his sister.
Selim 願意與妹妹平分獎金，這是一個十分成熟的決定。
attributive: an adult decision
It was an adult conversation about money, and the twins listened without saying a word.
那是一場關於金錢的成熟談話，雙胞胎一言不發地聽著。
attributive: an adult conversation
Élise apologised in front of her whole team, which everyone agreed was the adult thing to do.
Élise 在整個團隊面前道歉，大家都認為這才是成熟懂事的作法。
the adult thing to do
- adult conversation
- adult decision
- be adult about
- the adult thing to do
- mature
more common for personality and judgement
- responsible
stresses taking ownership of outcomes
- level-headed
stresses staying calm under pressure
文法句型
be adult about + noun
adult + behaviour/decision
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about behaviour, not body or age. Often appears with 'be ... about (a topic)' or with abstract nouns (decision, conversation, response).
常見錯誤
3. used as a polite label for films, magazines, websites, or shops whose pictures o
成人的
含有性內容、限成年人觀看的
used as a polite label for films, magazines, websites, or shops whose pictures or stories involve sex and are sold only to people over a legal age.
The hotel television blocks adult channels unless a guest pays an extra fee at the front desk.
除非客人到櫃台加付費用，不然旅館電視會封鎖所有成人頻道。
attributive: adult channels (media)
Eli refused to deliver leaflets for the new adult shop on the corner of Hill Street.
Eli 拒絕為 Hill Street 街口新開的成人用品店送傳單。
attributive: adult shop (venue)
Most adult websites ask visitors to confirm that they are over the age of eighteen.
大多數成人網站都會要求訪客確認自己已經滿十八歲。
attributive: adult websites
The library does not stock adult magazines, even on the top shelf.
圖書館連放在頂層架上的成人雜誌都不收藏。
attributive: adult magazines
- adult content
- adult film
- adult website
- adult shop
- adult magazine
- X-rated
informal; from the old cinema rating
- pornographic
direct and clinical; stronger word
- explicit
broader — covers strong content beyond just sex
- family-friendly
safe for children too
文法句型
adult + media noun
adult + venue noun
用法筆記
A polite cover term: 'adult content', 'adult shop', 'adult website' all signal sexual material without naming it directly. Always attributive; you would not say 'the film is adult' in this meaning.
常見錯誤
adult — 動詞
- adultpresent simple I / you / we / they
- adults3rd person singular
- adulting-ing form
- adultedpast simple
1. to take care of the boring daily jobs we expect from a grown-up — paying bills,
當大人
承擔成年人的日常雜務與責任
to take care of the boring daily jobs we expect from a grown-up — paying bills, cleaning the kitchen, booking a doctor — especially when you find them hard or new.
Marta hates having to adult on Monday mornings before her first cup of coffee.
Marta 很討厭週一早上還沒喝到第一杯咖啡就得當大人。
have to adult + time phrase
After paying the rent, the gas bill, and the dentist, Adisa felt she had adulted enough for one week.
付完房租、瓦斯費和牙醫帳單後，Adisa 覺得這週已經當夠了大人。
past tense: had adulted enough
Christopher said he was too tired to adult and ordered noodles instead of cooking dinner.
Christopher 說他太累了不想當大人，於是點了麵，沒自己下廚。
too tired to adult (informal)
Nobody warned Min that adulting would mean spending most of Saturday at the laundry.
沒人提醒過 Min，當大人意味著週六大半都要泡在自助洗衣店。
gerund: adulting (subject)
- have to adult
- too tired to adult
- adulting is hard
- grow up
older, broader — also means 'mature' as a process
- be responsible
neutral, no informal humour
- slack off
informal; avoid responsibilities
文法句型
adult (used as gerund: adulting)
have to adult
用法筆記
Recent informal usage, most often heard in the gerund form 'adulting'. Subject is almost always a young person describing themselves; rarely used about other people in the third person.
常見錯誤
2. for a young animal or insect, to grow until it reaches the size and stage at whi
長大成熟
動物或昆蟲長到可繁殖的階段
for a young animal or insect, to grow until it reaches the size and stage at which it can have babies of its own.
Most dragonflies adult within a single summer along the warm banks of the Mekong.
湄公河溫暖的河岸邊，大多數蜻蜓都只需一個夏季就能長大成熟。
intransitive, biology register: subject + adults
The young salmon that Yara tagged last spring will adult somewhere off the coast of Norway.
Yara 去年春天標記的那些年輕鮭魚，未來會在挪威沿岸某處長大成熟。
future: will adult
In captivity, this rare frog usually adults two months later than in the wild.
在人工飼養下，這種稀有青蛙長大成熟的時間通常比野外晚兩個月。
comparison of timing: adults later than
Evelyn watched the tiny tadpole slowly adult in the back-garden pond over one warm summer.
Evelyn 看著那隻小蝌蚪在後院池塘裡慢慢長大成熟，度過了一個溫暖的夏天。
intransitive: subject + adult (location + time)
- adult in the wild
- adult in captivity
文法句型
intransitive: subject + adults
用法筆記
Almost only seen in biology writing about animals or insects; not used of people in this sense. Distinguish from sense 1, which is informal and is about behaviour, not biological growth.
常見錯誤
同根字
常見搭配
名詞搭配
- adult life
- adult education
- adult learner
- young adult
常用片語
- consenting adults
- responsible adult
- treat someone as an adult
介系詞搭配
- adult of
- adult in (a place)
- adult with (children)