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

Next to them, a few Gen X members of the Immanuel community came to support without prior knowledge of the band. — Lina Abascal, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026

One of the biggest margins was in jewelry and gems, where in 2026, Gen Z spent $151,310 on average, more than five times the average among Gen X collectors ($29,500), the next-highest-spending cohort. — Robert Frank, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026

When compared to their childless counterparts, Gen X and millennial parents are more likely to shop in-person more often if inventory issues improved. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026

About $14 trillion of it is expected to reach Gen X households over the next ten years. — Jon Sabes, Fortune, 30 Aug. 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