Gen X

noun

ˈjen-ˈeks 

: generation x

Gen X managed to stretch adolescence beyond all previous limits: Its members started becoming adults earlier and finished becoming adults later.

—Jean M. Twenge

—often used before another noun

a Gen X celebrity

—often hyphenated in such use

… 'The Blair Witch Project,' a stealth blockbuster with clever Internet marketing and so much Gen-X appeal that it's spooking Hollywood.

—Newsweek

Gen Xer

ˈjen-ˈek-sər 

noun

or Gen-Xer

plural Gen Xers or Gen-Xers

… only about 56 percent of high-school seniors in 2015 went out on dates; for Boomers and Gen Xers, the number was about 85 percent.

—Jean M. Twenge

Like many Gen-Xers, I remember childhood as an uncomplicated time when the only thing you had to worry about was being home by dark.

—Bethany Young Hardy

Examples of Gen X in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Colorectal cancer is one of 17 different types of cancer rising for Gen X and Millennials, according to American Cancer Society research published earlier this year. —David Oliver, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024

But the implications for the film business — and for the wider cinematic culture — are actually pretty profound, at least according to many of the Gen X and millennial movie executives with whom THR spoke. —Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2024

That was until someone in her camp thought a Gen X candidate should use the Boomer playbook and, Gen Z would be onboard with it. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024

According to the Pew Research Center, there are five generations in the global workforce: Silent Generation (1922-1945); Baby Boomers (1946-1964); Gen X (1965-1980); Gen Y/Millennials (1981-1996); and Gen Z (1997-2012). —Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above