teen
adjective
teen
1 American
[teen]
/ tin /
adjective
noun
teen
2
American
[teen]
/ tin /
noun
-
Archaic. suffering; grief.
-
Obsolete. injury; harm.
-teen
3
American
-teen
1
British
combining form
teen
2
British
/ tiːn /
adjective
teen
3
British
/ tiːn /
noun
Usage
What does -teen mean? The suffix -teen means “ten.” It is used to form cardinal numbers from 13 to 19. The form -teen comes from Old English -tēne, meaning “ten.” The Latin cognate of -tēne is -decim, from decem, also meaning “ten.” Find out how dozen is related to the combining form -decim at our entry for the word.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of teen1
First recorded in 1940–45; by shortening
Origin of teen2
before 1000; Middle English tene, Old English tēona; cognate with Old Frisian tiona, Old Saxon tiono, Old Norse tjōn
Origin of -teen3
Middle English, Old English -tēne, combining form of ten; cognate with Dutch -tien, German -zehn
Explanation
Are you between the ages of 13 and 19? If so, you're a teen! Teen is a less-formal way to say teenager. You can use this informal word as a noun or an adjective, so you might talk about teen literature, teen rebellion, teen movies, or teen romance—anything that has to do with teenagers. If you're 11, you may be eagerly anticipating your teen years; if you happen to be 37, you certainly remember being a teen, either fondly or not. The teen years are also known as adolescence.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Teen employment has never been evenly distributed; it rises with family income.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
She has held staff positions at Nylon, Teen Vogue and New York Magazine and is currently a contributing editor at The Wall Street Journal Magazine.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
Teen unemployment, which typically runs much higher than the national average, has been choppy so far this year.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
It followed Lauren Conrad, star of “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County,” as she moved to Los Angeles and took an internship with Teen Vogue.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
Local Teen Trapped in Parental Vortex of Expectation and Disappointment, Doesn’t Expect to Be Rescued The nice thing about having an overachieving asshole for an older brother is that it takes the pressure off.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
