preteen
Americannoun
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Also called preteenager. Also called preteener. a boy or girl under the age of 13, especially one between the ages of 9 and 12.
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preteens, the years immediately preceding one's thirteenth birthday.
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of preteen
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.
To his exacting teen and preteen audience, “the Danish person,” as they disobligingly christen him, looks like the houseguest from hell.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
He started sumo wrestling, too, and as a preteen was mesmerized by a YouTube clip he saw of a famous match between sumo legends Takanohana and Asashoryu.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026
The author describes being drawn to Lansbury as a preteen, seeing in her character a woman confidently creating stories and outmaneuvering powerful men in investigations.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025
Soon after leaving that program in 2022, Audrey, who is now 21, was diagnosed with a second chronic illness: EDS, which she’d likely been living with since she was a preteen.
From Slate • Sep. 15, 2025
I didn’t want to appear rude, but as a preteen girl, I thought, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anything in here.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
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.
