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

The Gen Z snap of Ruby and Luke versus the Gen X one. —Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 June 2025

The use was higher among Gen Z and millennials compared to Gen X and boomers. —Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025

Social Security planning tips for Gen X and late millennials. —Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 23 May 2025

The Gen X beauty consumer is a powerful one in terms of spending power, though it has historically been underserved by the category. —Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 22 May 2025

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