Adult
living organism that has reached sexual maturity
An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of adult is an organism that has reached sexual maturity and is thus capable of reproduction.
In the human context, the term adult has meanings associated with legal and social concepts. In contrast to a non-adult or "minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of majority and is therefore regarded as independent, self-sufficient, and responsible. They may also be regarded as "majors". The typical age of attaining adulthood for humans is 18 years, although definition may vary by country. A person may be physically mature and a biological adult by approximately age 15 or 16, but not defined as an adult by law until older ages, mostly commonly 18, 20 or 21. For example, in the US, one cannot join the armed forces or vote until age 18, and one cannot take on many legal and financial responsibilities until age 21.
Human adulthood encompasses psychological adult development. Definitions of adulthood are often inconsistent and contradictory; a person may be biologically an adult, and have adult behavior, but still be treated as a child if they are under the legal age of majority.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Adult” is living organism that has reached sexual maturity. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Adult, living and organism, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “living organism that has reached sexual maturity” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q80994. The Library of Congress control number is sh85001056. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Adult”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Adult primary sources, Adult archive and Adult research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Adult” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.