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

• millennials
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• millennially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• millennials
  plural

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

See Examples For:

millennial millennials

Like El-Sayed, Moss is a progressive millennial who has long been a rising star in Michigan Democratic politics.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Gen Z and millennial home buyers in particular were shocked by how stressful owning a house is; 69% of millennial homeowners said they needed to make surprise repairs on their home.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

It’s worth considering whether elite campus environments normalize an organizational model that many of today’s millennial political leaders seek to replicate through public policy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Vance’s efforts to seem hip come across as forced, as if he has never met a fellow millennial and can only approximate their lingo and cadence from reading old magazine reviews of movies like “Clueless.”

From Salon ● Jul. 29, 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

“We’re millennials and we’ve been seeing this on TikTok. We were like, ‘It’s starting to look like it’s getting out of hand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Jeremy Moss and Abdul El-Sayed are young, diverse progressive millennials in Michigan who are on the ballot for federal office in November.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

What's also striking, according to Gupta, is that the Gen Z is driving it, spending roughly double what millennials did on skincare and personal care.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Like that Moneyist reader in his 70s, many Americans expect to continue working during retirement, Northwestern found, particularly millennials and Gen Xers, reflecting changing views of retirement and financial needs.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

But the only thing I love more than coffee is winning—and I worried all these glowing, hyper-efficient millennials were getting a leg up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026