teenager
Americannoun
-
teenagers
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of teenager
Explanation
If you're younger than 20 but older than 12, congratulations! You're a teenager! Teenagers are also known as teens or adolescents. Generally, teenagers have finished elementary school, are growing fairly quickly, and are in the last stage of development before they become official adults. As a teenager, the things you may do include graduating from high school, getting a driver's license, and working at a paid job. Before teenager was coined in the 1920s, the word was teener.
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.
See Examples For:
He followed the teenager into a classroom, where he saw a teacher fighting with the suspect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
My mother traveled to Cuba as a teenager; my father never went back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Omar was a child or preteen during the asylum process and a teenager during the citizenship process.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2026
Felipe taught himself how to program as a teenager and is developing his own game, although he acknowledges that working in Cuba throws up constant obstacles.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
The teenager seemed startled that Mosley was speaking to him, even though Mosley and Michael had been watching him the whole time and vice versa.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
For teenagers, getting enough sleep is especially important because growth hormone plays a major role in reaching their full height potential.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
Christophe, a 47-year-old carpenter and former Yellow Vest protester who did not give his surname, said he was indignant after seeing what he viewed as police brutality against teenagers in recent weeks.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Two teenagers, Evi Casey and Vanessa Martino, Paul’s daughter, guide us through each episode.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
We paint our current selves onto the kids we grew up with, so the bookworm remembers a childhood crowded with library lovers, and today’s teenagers are contrasted with classmates who never existed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
It was weird, almost awkward, watching Special Agent Gonzales and Mamá acting like teenagers around each other, but it was also kind of cute.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
