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

Muse was described by the caller as a Black man wearing black jeans and a face mask. —Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026

Melmo The stiffness of my jeans wakes me—almost icy in the predawn. —Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026

Meanwhile, Trudeau showed off his own take on business casual attire in dark wash jeans, an olive green dress shirt, and a slate gray jacket. —Lara Walsh, InStyle, 13 Apr. 2026

There’s not enough room in the back pocket of jeans for more than one hand. —Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 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"