an offence or misdeed, usually of a minor nature, esp one committed by a young person
See juvenile delinquencyfailure or negligence in duty or obligation; dereliction a delinquent nature or delinquent behaviour
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
de•lin•quent /dɪˈlɪŋkwənt/USA pronunciation
adj.
n. [countable]
de•lin•quent•ly, adv.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- guilty of a misdeed or offense.
- Businesspast due:a delinquent account.
n. [countable]
- Sociologya person who is delinquent, esp. a juvenile delinquent.
de•lin•quent•ly, adv.
de•lin•quen•cy
(di ling′kwən sē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -cies.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- failure in or neglect of duty or obligation;
dereliction;
default:delinquency in payment of dues. - Sociologywrongful, illegal, or antisocial behavior. Cf. juvenile delinquency.
- any misdeed, offense, or misdemeanor.
- something, as a debt, that is past due or otherwise delinquent.
- Late Latin dēlinquentia fault, crime, equivalent. to Latin dēlinquent- (stem of dēlinquēns, present participle of dēlinquere to do wrong, equivalent. to dē- de- + linquere to leave) + -ia noun, nominal suffix; see -ency
- 1630–40
de•lin•quent
(di ling′kwənt),USA pronunciation adj.
n.
de•lin′quent•ly, adv.
- failing in or neglectful of a duty or obligation;
guilty of a misdeed or offense. - Business(of an account, tax, debt, etc.) past due;
overdue. - Sociologyof or pertaining to delinquents or delinquency:delinquent attitudes.
n.
- Sociologya person who is delinquent.
- SociologySee juvenile delinquent.
- Latin dēlinquent-; see delinquency
- 1475–85
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