Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - mature

~1 adj 1 »SENSIBLE« a child or young person who is mature behaves in a sensible and reasonable way, as you would expect an older person to behave  (She's very mature for her age. | John has always shown a mature attitude to his work.)  (- opposite immature) 2 »FULLY GROWN« fully grown and developed  (The mature eagle has a wingspan of over six feet.) 3 »WINE/CHEESE ETC« mature cheese, wine etc has a good strong flavour which has developed during a long period of time  (mature cheddar) 4 »OLDER« a polite or humorous way of describing someone who is no longer young; middle­aged  (We design clothes for the maturer woman. | of mature years)  (a respectable gentleman of mature years) 5 »NOVEL/PAINTING ETC« a mature piece of work by a writer or an artist shows a high level of understanding or skill 6 on mature reflection/consideration formal after thinking about something carefully  (On mature reflection we have decided to decline their offer.) 7 »FINANCIAL« technical a mature bond1 (1) or policy (2) is ready to be paid - maturely adv ~2 v matured, maturing 1 to become fully grown or developed  (A kitten matures when it is about a year old.) 2 to become sensible and start to behave like an adult  (He has matured a lot since he left home.) 3 if a cheese, wine, whisky etc matures or is matured, it develops a good strong flavour over a period of time 4 technical if a financial arrangement such as a bond1 (1) or policy (2) matures, it becomes ready to be paid