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

Consider guests well-dressed for the newer casual dress code, which can mean designer jeans at dinner. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Sep. 2026

Jean shorts helped attendees beat the heat, and there was even some unexpected layering, like a jean shift dress worn over baggy jeans. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 23 Sep. 2026

Hadid kept it casual in a simple tank top and jeans (very model off-duty of her), while Cardi went dressier, opting for an orange silk top, micro shorts, a chain belt, and pointy pumps. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 23 Sep. 2026

Swift, 36, styled a Chiefs graphic tank and acid-wash jeans with a gold chain pendant designed by Catbird, per Page Six. — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 21 Sep. 2026

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
• clean
• deen
• diene
• gene
• glean
• keen
• lien
• mean

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"