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

And while some chuckled when Everlane and its peers boasted about being tech-savvy, millennial brands did operate differently from their predecessors.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

Firstman stars as Peter, a debauched millennial aging out of a New York scene that never cared about him as a person in the first place.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

The millennial sex therapist eked out a narrow win in the Democratic primary election in March and will advance to a runoff with the second-place finisher, sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia, on Tuesday.

From Slate • May 22, 2026

“Watching them get acquired by Shein isn’t just a business story, it feels like a generational story, because we were promised that millennial retail could be different,” Petit said of the news about Everlane.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 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