jean

noun

ˈjēn 

plural jeans

1

: a durable twilled cotton cloth used especially for sportswear and work clothes

2

usually jeans

ˈjēnz 

: pants usually made of denim or jean

… strolling with royal puppy Lupo through Kensington Gardens near the couple's two-bedroom cottage in a pair of jeans and rain boots.

—Alicia Dennis et al.

Millions of people today buy designer jeans for double the price of equally durable generic jeans …

—Jared Diamond

see also blue jeans, mom jeans

Examples of jean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These chic straight-leg jeans are available in a 29-inch short inseam and have a high-rise cut that sits at the natural waist. —Melony Forcier, Travel + Leisure, 29 Nov. 2025

Finds like winterproof turtlenecks and trendy jeans belong to the first category—and are ready to elevate your next tailgate, grocery run, or backyard hang. —Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 29 Nov. 2025

My Amazon cart is bursting at the seams (pun intended) with Black Friday deals on petite clothing, including dresses, jeans, sweaters, and matching sets from brands like Lands’ End, Gap, Spanx, and Eddie Bauer. —Jamie Allison Sanders, PEOPLE, 29 Nov. 2025

Washing them together can cause excessive wear and tear to towels, thanks to zippers and metal rivets on jeans. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 29 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

short for jean fustian, from Middle English Gene Genoa, Italy + fustian

First Known Use

1567, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing jean

• jean shorts

Rhymes for jean

• bean
• bein
• bien
• bouin
• chine
• clean
• deen
• diene
• gene
• glean
• keen
• lien

Kids Definition

jean

noun

ˈjēn 

1

: a heavy cotton cloth used especially for sportswear and work clothes

2

plural : pants made of jean, denim, or corduroy

Etymology

a shortened form of earlier jean fustian, literally "a fustian (heavy cotton cloth) from Genoa," from Middle English Gene "Genoa, Italy"