jean
noun
Sometimes jeans a sturdy twilled fabric, usually of cotton.
jean
1 American
[jeen, jeyn]
/ dʒin, dʒeɪn /
noun
-
Sometimes jeans a sturdy twilled fabric, usually of cotton.
-
(used with a plural verb) jeans,
-
pants of various fabrics, styled or constructed like blue jeans.
Jean
2
American
[zhahn , jeen]
/ ʒɑ̃, dʒin /
noun
-
1921–2019, Grand Duke of Luxembourg 1964–2000.
-
a male given name, form of John.
-
a female given name.
Jean
1
British
/ ʒɑ̃ /
noun
-
born 1921, full name Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano , grand duke of Luxembourg (1964–2000)
-
Michaelle. born 1957, in Haiti. Canadian stateswoman and broadcaster; governor-general from 2005
jean
2
British
/ dʒiːn /
noun
Usage
What does jean mean? The word jean refers to the kind of material used to make jeans, as in blue jeans—a type of pants. Jeans are traditionally made from denim, a kind of cotton fabric. Today, jeans are made from a variety of fabrics and fabric blends, but they’re still called jeans if they resemble denim blue jeans. In this way, the word jean isn’t commonly used as a name of a kind of material until after it’s been made into jeans. Jean is most commonly used as a modifier to describe garments that are made of denim or the kind of fabric that blue jeans are made of, as in jean shorts, jean jacket (also commonly called a denim jacket), and jean shirt. Example: I used to wear a jean jacket with a bunch of patches on it.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jean
1485–95; short for jean fustian, earlier Gene(s) fustian Genoese or Genoa fustian
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:
I had dreadlocks halfway down my back and wore jean shorts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
In May of that year, Epstein emailed Todt to say "jean, sorry it was so short and Terje did not give me any notice in advance to help with the fun".
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
Many of the shocked faces watching Cena’s loss on Saturday night were children, decked out in imitations of Cena’s classic look of armbands and jean shorts.
From Salon ● Dec. 14, 2025
Storm DeBarge: You couldn’t just have a regular jean color.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025
I’ve chosen a safari outfit look for today—a white T-shirt and my favorite green jean jacket and a tan skirt that just skims my knees.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
There’s a great argument for this approach in a new book from Jean Chatzky called “The Forever Paycheck,” which is coming out in September.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
"Nicolas, Mathilde, you loved each other, we loved you. Immense sadness and shock. My thoughts are with your families," Oscar-winning French actor Jean Dujardin, who starred in the "OSS 117" movies said on social media.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Sink will play Jean Grey, a character revealed to fans when she appeared in Spiderman: Brand New Day last month.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
After Jean Chow’s husband and mother died within six months of each other, she needed to get away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The next time I was in Cange, however, I asked Zanmi Lasante’s chief handyman, Ti Jean, what people were saying about the case.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
