Gen X

noun

ˈjen-ˈeks 

: generation x

Gen X managed to stretch adolescence beyond all previous limits: Its members started becoming adults earlier and finished becoming adults later.

—Jean M. Twenge

—often used before another noun

a Gen X celebrity

—often hyphenated in such use

… 'The Blair Witch Project,' a stealth blockbuster with clever Internet marketing and so much Gen-X appeal that it's spooking Hollywood.

—Newsweek

Gen Xer

ˈjen-ˈek-sər 

noun

or Gen-Xer

plural Gen Xers or Gen-Xers

… only about 56 percent of high-school seniors in 2015 went out on dates; for Boomers and Gen Xers, the number was about 85 percent.

—Jean M. Twenge

Like many Gen-Xers, I remember childhood as an uncomplicated time when the only thing you had to worry about was being home by dark.

—Bethany Young Hardy

Examples of Gen X in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Those most likely to have revenge quit in the past include entry-level employees (24%), Gen X employees (21%) and remote employees (20%). —Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

According to the survey results, Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers all agree on two things: that original hardwood floors and old-fashioned woodworking will never go out of style. —Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 15 Jan. 2025

Balances for Gen X workers who have been saving for 15 years averaged $543,400, or $200 more than boomers’, according to a Fidelity analysis of its more than 22 million accounts in the first three months of the year. —Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2025

The Pew Research Center defines Gen X as those born between 1965 and 1980, and Gen Z were born between the years of 1997 and 2012. —John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 13 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above