underage

¹ American  

[uhn-der-eyj] / ˌʌn dərˈeɪdʒ /

adjective

1. lacking the required age, especially that of legal maturity.

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underage ² American  

[uhn-der-ij] / ˈʌn dər ɪdʒ /

noun

1. shortage; deficiency in amount.

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underage British  

/ ˌʌndərˈeɪdʒ /

adjective

1. below the required or standard age, esp below the legal age for voting or drinking

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Etymology

Origin of underage¹

First recorded in 1585–95; under- + age

Origin of underage²

First recorded in 1605–15; under- + -age

Example Sentences

“It’s been hard for me because for many years I’ve been so embarrassed that I wasn’t underage when I met him. I was in my early 20s,” she said in the recent interview.

From The Wall Street Journal

Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg took the stand during the trial, pushing back against accusations that his company had done too little to keep underage users off his platform and had profited from their usage.

From Barron's

Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg took the stand during the trial, pushing back against accusations that his company had done too little to keep underage users off his platform and had profited from their presence.

From Barron's

"As self-declaration is easily circumvented, this means underage children can easily access services that have not been designed for them," the ICO said in an open letter to social media and video platforms.

From BBC

There have also been concerns that age assurance technologies would wrongly block adults while failing to spot underage users.

From BBC

Related Words

• adolescent