teen

1 of 2

noun (1)

: a teenage person : teenager
teen adjective

teen

2 of 2

noun (2)

archaic

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
As a teen, Tess began spending time at Charlottesville’s Music Resource Center, a nonprofit music-and-arts after-school program for the area’s middle and high schoolers. Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2023 Investigators believe the teen’s truck crossed the center line and struck the van. Alexis Stevens, ajc, 20 Apr. 2023 During the investigation, officers found two firearms in the home that are believed to have been brought in by the teen. Lana Ferguson, Dallas News, 18 Apr. 2023 Phillips is the third teen fatally shot in Birmingham in six days. Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 2 Apr. 2023 The men have been friends since high school in South Milwaukee and first smelted together in their teens. Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2023 Derek Ma, now 70 and the CCBA’s senior advisor, came to L.A. from Hong Kong in his late teens, juggling jobs as a garment contractor, a general contractor and restaurant owner. Anh Do, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2023 The woman described spending evenings at the Brownings’ home throughout her teens as a member of a 4-H club and riding a horse that the couple bought for her. Cassidy Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 30 Mar. 2023 Joshua Langberg, an ADHD specialist and director of the Center for Youth Social Emotional Wellness at Rutgers University, said that this could explain the additional bump in teens and adults filling prescriptions for ADHD medications during this time. Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, 30 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'teen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

Middle English tene, from Old English tēona injury, grief; akin to Old Norse tjōn loss, damage

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1818, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of teen was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near teen

Cite this Entry

“Teen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teen. Accessed 28 May. 2023.

Kids Definition

teen

noun
ˈtēn
teen adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on teen

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