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

There are some clever nods to Gen Z, Gen X, and Boomers that will make adults chuckle. —Katie Grant, Parents, 7 Aug. 2025

In terms of mass culture, Gen X and Boomers can often feel on the outside looking in. —Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025

Millennials and Gen X were the most likely to say yes to love. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2025

Hotels, motels and short-term rental owners welcome artists, entrepreneurs, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Y, and Zers as well as visitors of all ages and backgrounds from dozens of countries around the world, for Austin's annual South by Southwest Conference and Festival. —Shonda Novak, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 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