teenager
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of teenager
Explanation
If you're younger than 20 but older than 12, congratulations! You're a teenager! Teenagers are also known as teens or adolescents. Generally, teenagers have finished elementary school, are growing fairly quickly, and are in the last stage of development before they become official adults. As a teenager, the things you may do include graduating from high school, getting a driver's license, and working at a paid job. Before teenager was coined in the 1920s, the word was teener.
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.
Credit to the teenager for being one of the rare sparks of joy this season but Liverpool needed senior players to step up.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
In April 2025 he made similar remarks to Fox News’ Jesse Watters, asserting that “an American teenager today has less testosterone than a 68-year old American man.”
From Salon • May 15, 2026
If there’s a teenager in your life, you might well have heard of “boy kibble,” the latest Gen Z food trend to take over TikTok and Instagram.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Parsons, who was a teenager when he first met with interested production companies, showed up to his Zoom with A24 accompanied by his parents.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
The scrappy kid in boots didn’t match the teenager in a bouncy white dress.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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.
