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

New styles include high-rise barrel-leg jeans and high-rise chap seamed bootcut jeans. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026

Season three of Nobody Wants This is almost upon us, and Lupe has been making her rounds from New York Fashion Week to the red carpet, including while wearing a pair of these exact Talbot jeans. — Rylee Johnston, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2026

Somewhere between a jegging and a jean exist these Liverpool Los Angeles pants, which have a comfy elastic, pull-on waist in lieu of a zipper and button closure. — Annie Blackman, InStyle, 29 Sep. 2026

Di Felice’s re-edition of the iconic vinyl mini skirts and jackets was an instant success, while his figure-hugging clubwear and boot-cut jeans cemented his reputation for a bold, distinctive style. — Laure Guilbault, Vogue, 29 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"