n [ usu sing ]
a person’s 18th birthday, when he or she becomes legally an adult. At 18, a person can also vote in elections and get married without the agreement of his or her parents (though in Scotland people can get married at 16 without such agreement). The 21st birthday might also be thought of as a coming of age, especially in some US states where people are not allowed to buy alcohol until the age of 21. This was also the legal coming of age in Britain until the law was changed in 1969.