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.
As a teenager, she applied to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, paid her fee and was fingerprinted for a background check.
From The Wall Street Journal • 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
Farah did eventually tell her parents as an older teenager - but she says they did not believe her and she then left the family home.
From BBC • 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
An older Theodore Roosevelt jumping on horseback, a hobby that he took up as a teenager.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
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.
