Roaring Twenties

American  

plural noun

1. the 1920s regarded as a boisterous era of prosperity, fast cars, jazz, speakeasies, and wild youth.

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Roaring Twenties Cultural  

1. The 1920s in the United States, called “roaring” because of the exuberant, freewheeling popular culture of the decade. The Roaring Twenties was a time when many people defied Prohibition, indulged in new styles of dancing and dressing, and rejected many traditional moral standards. (See flappers and Jazz Age.)

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Etymology

Origin of Roaring Twenties

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

"From valets to duchesses, from three-piece suits to the Roaring Twenties, there is something for every taste," it boasts on its website.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

“The glamour of the Roaring Twenties is something I really want to capture,” Gareth Banner, Ned’s managing director, said in a Washington Post feature on the DC property.

From Salon • Apr. 1, 2025

"The Roaring Twenties saw major advances in science and technology. But the decade also brought the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression."

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2023

The deadly 1918-20 influenza pandemic gave way to the prosperous Roaring Twenties in the United States, the most powerful economic expansion to that point in history.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 30, 2022

The Roaring Twenties stood at the tail end of a historic surge of immigration to the United States.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee