Gen X
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Gen X
First recorded in 1990–95
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.
Clark’s Gen X parents earned computer science degrees in the 1990s and secured stable jobs with clear trajectories for career growth straight out of college.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
The audience for Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” for example, was primarily young millennials, but the sensibilities of its Gen X writers are all over it.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
Curry, who died Tuesday at 80, made a gleefully evil turn as a clown that sparked nightmares for legions of Gen X and millennial viewers that continue to haunt to this day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
HSBC's 2025 UK survey found that 63% of Gen Z plan to take at least one mini‑retirement, compared with 32% of Gen X and 13% of Boomers.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
You may know him as the guy who played the dad in Boyhood, but he used to be a Gen X icon.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
![]()
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.