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

Around 42% of young professionals have used an AI tool to find their career, compared to 34% of millennials, 29% of Gen X, and just 23% of baby boomers. —Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2025

Millennials make up the largest percentage of current pet owners (33%), followed by Gen X (25%) and baby boomers (24%). —Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025

Why task masking is so popular with Gen Z As Mann observes, Gen Z is a decidedly different generation from millennials, Gen X or Boomers in terms of their workplace attitudes. —Julia Sullivan, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025

There are some clever nods to Gen Z, Gen X, and Boomers that will make adults chuckle. —Katie Grant, Parents, 7 Aug. 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