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 cultural moments helped to expand denim beyond workers, but jeans didn’t become widespread casual attire until after World War II, when American fashion overall started to shift. —Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC, 6 Dec. 2025

As for her outerwear, Hadid opted for a cropped olive green jacket that hits just below the band of her mid-rise jeans and features a brown shearling collar for extra warmth. —Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 6 Dec. 2025

Great jeans look good on everyone. —Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 6 Dec. 2025

Meghan wore her black shacket with tall black boots and slim-fit jeans, her signature denim style. —Nicol Natale, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 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"