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

This is a higher share than their millennial (60%), Gen X (58%), and Baby Boomer (56%) counterparts. —Courtney Vinopal, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024

Additionally, Gen X and older millennials should consider delaying Social Security until age 70, which can significantly boost their monthly payouts. —Ebony Flake, Essence, 11 Apr. 2024

Cobra Kai is the rare show that Gen X and Gen Z can love equally. —Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 6 Apr. 2024

Baby boomers and Gen X are wildly underprepared for retirement on the whole, according to many surveys and studies. —Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024

As more and more corporations relax degree requirements, and with Boomers delaying retirement and Gen X expected to follow suit, today’s workforce spans multiple generations and professional stages. —Ebony Flake, Essence, 2 Apr. 2024

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the box-office gold standard for this formula, but almost every beloved Gen X or Millennial media property has done it—many of them multiple times—including sci-fi works such as Alien and The Terminator, and horror-fests such as Scream and Halloween. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2024

This misperception is impacting screening rates as less than half (44%) of Gen X women who are eligible for screening have undergone colonoscopies. —Lipi Roy, Md, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

That’s 8% higher compared to a year ago, and a bigger jump than other generations—millennials saw a 2% increase, Gen X saw a 3% increase, and the number of boomers who are happy at their jobs dipped 2%. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above