Adulting

Adulting (noun / verb / slang)

Definition: Doing the boring, responsible bits of day-to-day life that come with being a grown-up, usually with a bit of a groan.

Pronunciation: /ˈæd.ʌl.tɪŋ/ (ad-ult-ing)

Where It Comes From: People started chucking the word about online around the early 2010s—mostly across Twitter, Tumblr, and Reddit. Instead of adulthood being this automatic switch that flips the moment you turn 18, folk started treating “adult” like an active verb you have to actively force yourself to do.

It basically took off because navigating your twenties got genuinely messy. Between crazy rent prices, confusing energy bills, and dodgy job markets, younger crowds needed a sarcastic, self-deprecating label for just managing to stay afloat.

How People Actually Use It: You won’t hear anyone use it when they’ve bought a four-bed house or landed a massive promotion. It’s almost always saved for the small, annoying stuff you drag your heels on.

Putting a duvet cover on without losing your rag, paying a council tax bill, remembering to buy bin bags before you run out, or booking a GP appointment—that’s the sweet spot. It’s lighthearted, a bit tongue-in-cheek, and usually dropped into a chat when you’re looking for a bit of sympathy from friends who are also winging it.

Examples in the Wild

• “Spent forty minutes on hold to British Gas just to give a meter reading. I’m done adulting for the day.”

  Translation: “I dealt with a boring utility chore, so my patience for being responsible has completely run out.”

• “Look at me adulting—got my MOT booked two weeks early instead of driving around panicking.”

  Translation: “I actually got my car admin sorted well ahead of time like a functional human being.”

• “I cannot adult today. The dishes can sit there until tomorrow morning.”

  Translation: “I have zero motivation to deal with kitchen chores right now, so I’m putting it off.”

Similar Slang: Life admin, Being a proper grown-up, Sorting your life out, Doing bits