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

Gen X shoppers preferred Walmart (28%), followed by supermarkets (25%), while Gen Z opted for Walmart (23%), Aldi (20%), dollar stores (17%) and club stores (15%). — Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Sixty-two percent of Millennial women cited business ownership and innovation as primary wealth drivers, compared with 20% of Gen X women and 10% of Boomer women. — Sharon Olson, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

Only 14% of Gen X workers have a traditional pension, compared with 56% of boomers, according to research from Alliance's Retirement Income Institute. — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 26 July 2026

Only 14% of Gen X workers have a traditional pension, compared with 56% of baby boomers. — Jeanne Thompson, Fortune, 19 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Gen X

• becks
• checks
• czechs
• decks
• dex
• ex
• flecks
• flex
• hex
• lex
• necks
• pecks