millennial

1 of 2

adjective

mil·​len·​ni·​al mə-ˈle-nē-əl 

1

: of or relating to a millennium

This geopolitical specification of the millennium—this identification of the New Jerusalem with a particular place and people—was rare, even in a time of millennial fervor.

—Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

2

: of, relating to , or belonging to the generation of people born in the 1980s or 1990s : of or relating to millennials

More than 60% of millennial voters support the birth control mandate.

—Katie McDonough

millennial

2 of 2

noun

: a person born in the 1980s or 1990s

—usually plural

Examples of millennial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

At the height of his heartthrob reign in the early aughts, Padalecki also starred in millennial nostalgic classics such as House of Wax and Friday the 13th. —Stephanie Sengwe, Peoplemag, 14 July 2024

And Bumble’s efforts to bring more users to the hive (i.e not just millennial women) hasn’t gone so well — a lot of people were pretty offended by the company’s splashy ads mocking celibacy earlier this year. —Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 11 July 2024

Noun

Betterment polled 1,200 individual investors this spring across four demographic cohorts: Generation Z, millennials, Generation X and baby boomers. —Genna Contino, CNBC, 10 July 2024

The tiny, translucent disks are increasingly adorning the faces of Gen Z and millennials when a pimple appears, and over 1 billion of the brand’s signature hydrocolloid patches have sold thus far. —Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 8 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1660, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1991, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing millennial

• multi-millennial

Kids Definition

millennial

1 of 2 adjective

mil·​len·​ni·​al mə-ˈle-nē-əl 

: of or relating to a millennium

millennial

2 of 2 noun

: a person born in the 1980s or 1990s

—usually used in plural