generation

[ jen-uh-rey-shuh n ]

/ ˌdʒɛn əˈreɪ ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR generation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time: the postwar generation.

the term of years, roughly 30 among human beings, accepted as the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.

a group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age, having similar ideas, problems, attitudes, etc.Compare Beat Generation, Lost Generation.

a group of individuals belonging to a specific category at the same time: Chaplin belonged to the generation of silent-screen stars.

a single step in natural descent, as of human beings, animals, or plants.

a form, type, class, etc., of objects existing at the same time and having many similarities or developed from a common model or ancestor (often used in combination): a new generation of anticancer drugs; a third-generation phone.

the offspring of a certain parent or couple, considered as a step in natural descent.

the act or process of generating; procreation.

the state of being generated.

production by natural or artificial processes; evolution, as of heat or sound.

Biology.

one complete life cycle.
one of the alternate phases that complete a life cycle having more than one phase: the gametophyte generation.

Mathematics. the production of a geometrical figure by the motion of another figure.

Physics. one of the successive sets of nuclei produced in a chain reaction.

(in duplicating processes, as photocopying, film, etc.) the distance in duplicating steps that a copy is from the original work.

Nearby words

generalized xanthelasma, generally, generalship, generate, generating plant, generation, generation c, generation gap, generation jones, generation x, generation xl

Origin of generation

1250–1300; Middle English generacioun < Middle French < Latin generātiōn- (stem of generātiō). See generate, -ion

Related forms

gen·er·a·tion·al, adjectivegen·er·a·tion·al·ly, adverbin·ter·gen·er·a·tion, nounpre·gen·er·a·tion, noun

sub·gen·er·a·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for generation

I watched SNL—the Eddie Murphy generation—and also SCTV with Rick Moranis.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A place that has multiplied success for generation after generation of its children.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light|Mike Barnicle|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This was a guy from the hip-hop generation and with a perspective that was inextricably linked to that generation.
Remembering ESPN’s Sly, Cocky, and Cool Anchor Stuart Scott|Stereo Williams|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Changing public opinion, of course, will be the work of a generation or maybe two, but kudos to Stewart for getting it started.
The Democrats’ Black Hole—and What They Can Do About It|Michael Tomasky|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Parker left the place that he knew for the possibilities that he would not have had in the Texas of a generation ago.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The cells of its own generation that were crowded in the other direction made part of an annual layer of bark.
Trees Worth Knowing|Julia Ellen Rogers
Like the God whom it hymns, it has been "for generation after generation" an asylum.
The Expositor's Bible: The Psalms, Volume III|Alexander Maclaren
She was old, of a past generation; the young women belonged to the present.
The Rainbow Trail|Zane Grey
We reply, that it is the receptacle, and in a manner the nurse, of all generation.
Timaeus|Plato
Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generation following.
The Works of William Cowper|William Cowper

British Dictionary definitions for generation

generation

/ (ˌdʒɛnəˈreɪʃən) /

noun

the act or process of bringing into being; production or reproduction, esp of offspring

a successive stage in natural descent of organisms: the time between when an organism comes into being and when it reproduces
the individuals produced at each stage

the normal or average time between two such generations of a species: about 35 years for humans

a phase or form in the life cycle of a plant or animal characterized by a particular type of reproductionthe gametophyte generation

all the people of approximately the same age, esp when considered as sharing certain attitudes, etc

production of electricity, heat, etc

physics a set of nuclei formed directly from a preceding set in a chain reaction

(modifier, in combination)

belonging to a generation specified as having been born in or as having parents, grandparents, etc, born in a given countrya third-generation American
belonging to a specified stage of development in manufacture, usually implying improvementa second-generation computer

Derived Forms

generational, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for generation

generation

[ jĕn′ə-rā′shən ]

n.

A form or stage in the life cycle of an organism.

All of the offspring that are at the same stage of descent from a common ancestor.

The average interval of time between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.

A group of individuals born and living about the same time.

A group of generally contemporaneous individuals regarded as having common cultural or social characteristics and attitudes.

The act or process of generating; origination, production, or procreation.

Science definitions for generation

generation

[ jĕn′ə-rā′shən ]

All of the offspring that are at the same stage of descent from a common ancestor.
The average interval of time between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.

A form or stage in the life cycle of an organism. See more at alternation of generations.

The formation of a line or geometric figure by the movement of a point or line.

generation

noun

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Origin of generation

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Examples from the Web for generation

British Dictionary definitions for generation

generation

noun

Derived Forms

Medicine definitions for generation

generation

n.

Science definitions for generation

generation