millennial

American  

[mi-len-ee-uhl] / mɪˈlɛn i əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a millennium or the millennium.

2. worthy or suggestive of the millennium.

3. (often initial capital letter) noting or relating to the generation born in the 1980s or 1990s, especially in the U.S.

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noun

1. (often initial capital letter) a person born in the 1980s or 1990s, especially in the U.S.; a member of Generation Y.

   Millennials are facing a deep economic crisis.

Other Word Forms

• millennially adverb

Etymology

Origin of millennial

First recorded in 1655–65; millenni(um) + -al ¹

Explanation

Anything millennial has something to do with a span of a thousand years. If you're an English history buff, you might mark your calendar to celebrate the millennial anniversary of the 11th-century Norman Conquest — which will occur in 2066. Save the date! It sounds like "million," but millennial goes back to the Latin mille, or "thousand." It originally meant "pertaining to a period of 1,000 years," or "pertaining to a millennium." We still use it this way, referring to the 21st century and the new millennium: "The art museum put on a millennial show in 2000." It's most commonly used for the generation of people born between the early 1980s and about 2000: "Oh, those millennials and their avocado toast."

Example Sentences

The tensions within and between the two couples - one millennial, the other Gen Z - reverberate throughout the episodes.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

You might assume the May 2 premiere marks a universe-altering event rather than what it actually is: A moneymaking endeavor playing into millennial nostalgia for recycled IP.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

The legendary Puerto Rican MC Wisin gave Karol a breather by storming the stage and regaling his millennial fans with 2000s reggaeton burners like “Pam Pam” and “Rakata.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

More on this: This millennial mom ‘charges’ her 6-year-old rent.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

Picture the millennial plane flying west, from the lowlands of the Beni to the heights of the Andes.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann