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

Women are starting businesses at an unprecedented rate, and in fact, data shows that of the women starting new businesses, Gen X women are leading the way. —Melissa Houston, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

Potential changes in Social Security benefits could impact millions of Americans 02:37 Gen X, meanwhile, is also shaping up to hit retirement without enough saved for their golden years. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 17 Dec. 2024

Given Gen X’s experiences, Thiegs has found the generation thinks differently about their dollars and how to use them. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 15 Dec. 2024

The pink-slip bloodbath has hit hard on Gen X veterans in the middle-management ranks of networks, studios, talent agencies and PR firms. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above