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

Below, check out some surprising data that shows how Gen X women have already found themselves with a level of power and presence unlike any generation before and how their lasting legacy will be in the transformation of our healthcare space. —Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 8 Oct. 2025

Gen X Women Carry the Heaviest Burden The BLS survey shows that women make up 55 percent of all eldercare providers. —Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025

And with that notion, Anderson brushes aside the remaining traces of Gen X cynicism he’s largely left behind and resets the stage for the next battle. —Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025

But industry experts say that there’s been a recent push for trips designed with the needs of Gen X and millennials in mind, not least because their desire to travel represents untapped opportunities. —Nicole Edenedo, AFAR Media, 22 Sep. 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