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

Channel Jennifer Lawrence in jeans and a trench, or go a little more elevated with a shirt dress. —India Roby, Glamour, 24 Feb. 2026

Brie paired the gold sandals with a dark denim Françoise button fastening top and coordinating jeans. —Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 24 Feb. 2026

Come Monday morning, swap your jeans for tailored trousers and your sweater for a crisp button-down. —Minty Mellon, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2026

Chelsea boots with jeans are a tried-and-true pairing that combines comfort with style. —Christina Perrier, InStyle, 23 Feb. 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
• 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"