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• teen
  teen

  adjective

  teenage.
• -teen
  -teen

  a suffix used to form cardinal numerals from 13 to 19.

teen

¹ American  

[teen] / tin /

adjective

1. teenage.

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noun

1. a teenager.

teen ² American  

[teen] / tin /

noun

1. Archaic. suffering; grief.

2. Obsolete. injury; harm.

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-teen ³ American  

1. a suffix used to form cardinal numerals from 13 to 19.

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-teen ¹ British  

combining form

1. ten: added to modified forms of the numbers 3 to 9 to form the numbers 13 to 19

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teen ² British  

/ tiːn /

adjective

1. informal another word for teenage

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teen ³ British  

/ tiːn /

noun

1. obsolete affliction or woe

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Usage

What does -teen mean? The suffix -teen means “ten.” It is used to form cardinal numbers from 13 to 19. The form -teen comes from Old English -tēne, meaning “ten.” The Latin cognate of -tēne is -decim, from decem, also meaning “ten.” Find out how dozen is related to the combining form -decim at our entry for the word.

Other Word Forms

• -teenth
  combining form

Etymology

Origin of teen¹

First recorded in 1940–45; by shortening

Origin of teen²

before 1000; Middle English tene, Old English tēona; cognate with Old Frisian tiona, Old Saxon tiono, Old Norse tjōn

Origin of -teen³

Middle English, Old English -tēne, combining form of ten; cognate with Dutch -tien, German -zehn

Explanation

Are you between the ages of 13 and 19? If so, you're a teen! Teen is a less-formal way to say teenager. You can use this informal word as a noun or an adjective, so you might talk about teen literature, teen rebellion, teen movies, or teen romance—anything that has to do with teenagers. If you're 11, you may be eagerly anticipating your teen years; if you happen to be 37, you certainly remember being a teen, either fondly or not. The teen years are also known as adolescence.

Example Sentences

But the bright-eyed teen is also balancing something far greater: a legacy.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Clark, who was picking up food at the Mall at Bay Plaza when the teen takeover occurred, serves as the district attorney for the Bronx.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

As a teen, friends took you to shows and it was cheap to learn to love live music.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

But 16 year old Owen Cooper, who won best supporting actor for his role as young teen Jamie Miller, still remembers where it all began.

From BBC • May 10, 2026

Even though there weren’t many Muslims in my high school, we had a diverse Muslim community in New Jersey that formed such a large part of my childhood and teen years.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Related Words

• juvenile
• youngster