Generation X

Also Gen·X, Gen-X

[jen-uh-rey-shuhn eks]

noun

1. the generation born between about 1966 and 1980.

Generation X

noun

1. members of the generation of people born between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s who are highly educated and underemployed, reject consumer culture, and have little hope for the future

Other Word Forms

• Generation Xer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Generation X¹

First recorded in 1990–95; named after the novel of the same name by Douglas Coupland (born 1961), German-born Canadian artist and novelist

Word History and Origins

Origin of Generation X¹

C20: from the novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland

Example Sentences

Generation X is made up of people born between 1965 and 1980, while baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964.

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New research says 48% of boomers and Generation X think they could live to 100, too, though they’re trepidatious — especially financially.

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That is earlier than millennials respondents, who said age 61, and Generation X, who said 64.

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The government shutdown aside, a recent Goldman Sachs survey found that 42% of younger workers, including Generation Z, millennials, and Generation X, are living paycheck to paycheck, and nearly three-quarters of these respondents said they’re struggling to save for retirement.

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Greg Gutfeld proudly preaches that his worldview is informed by 1978’s “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” a movie Generation X and Boomers consider to be a comedy classic.

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