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 rate has mostly headed down since 2007, a prerecession peak when millennial women started to enter their prime childbearing years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

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

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

With the World Cup upon us, soccer-loving Gen X and elder millennial Angelenos are desperate to get in on the action.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

The Girl Bosses, the pussy-hatted women at the “Women’s March,” the snarky bloggers and the comment section warriors and Lindy West herself—these were never the whole of millennial feminism.

From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026

They formed a group that was prepared to receive the millennial knowledge Nicolas had acquired in the East.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende