subteen

American  

[suhb-teen] / ˈsʌbˈtin /

noun

1. a young person approaching the teens teen teens or adolescence.

2. a range of even-numbered garment sizes, chiefly from 6 to 14, designed for girls under 13.

---

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designed for subteens.

   subteen clothes.

subteen British  

/ ˌsʌbˈtiːn /

noun

1. rare a young person who has not yet become a teenager

---

Etymology

Origin of subteen

First recorded in 1950–55; sub- + teen ¹

Example Sentences

He's a writer who likes to pack lots of lively characters, talk and unpremeditated activity into relatively tight spaces, thereby creating the kind of lifelike untidiness, fractiousness and believable goofiness that American movie comedy, with its stress on easily summarizable concepts and subteen gag writing, can only dream about.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bubble-gum music is the latest confection created for the subteen market, which accounts for about one out of every four single records sold.

From Time Magazine Archive

It seems incredible that Brenda Lee has been atop the subteen heap for ten years, but here's the anniversary album to bear witness.

From Time Magazine Archive

They buzzed over from England to the U.S. about ten years ago, but only in the last year or so have they moved out of the hobby shops and the subteen set to become a full-scale way of life.

From Time Magazine Archive