teens
[teenz]
- the numbers 13 through 19, especially in a progression, as the 13th through the 19th years of a lifetime or of a given or implied century.
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Origin of teens
teen1
[teen]
- Archaic. suffering; grief.
- Obsolete. injury; harm.
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Origin of teen1
before 1000; Middle English tene, Old English tēona; cognate with Old Frisian tiona, Old Saxon tiono, Old Norse tjōn
teen2
[teen]
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- a teenager.
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Origin of teen2
First recorded in 1940–45; by shortening
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for teens
Contemporary Examples
What is the suicide rate of Christian teens relative to transgender ones?
That is seven children and teens killed by gunfire each and every day in America.
But for some teens ISIS seems to symbolize power and purpose, a great drama promising deliverance from the humdrum.
Teens may be unaware of the potential for their private images to end up being disseminated.
As they went from their teens into their 20s, McCain and Kastigar each had minor run-ins with the law.
American Jihadis Douglas McCain and Troy Kastigar: From Losers to MartyrsMichael Daly
August 28, 2014
Historical Examples
She was no older than Dilly, but she had seemed matronly in her teens.
Tiverton TalesAlice Brown
It was the plaid belonging to Stella Hardy, who had died in her teens.
Tiverton TalesAlice Brown
He was getting as incorrigibly sentimental as a girl in her teens!
Louisiana LouWilliam West Winter
If we are ever to reach the Heights of Maturity we must spend ten years in the Teens.
Almost A ManMary Wood-Allen
They had ventured to apple parings together when not yet out of their 'teens.
Ox-Team Days on the Oregon TrailEzra Meeker
teens
- the years of a person's life between the ages of 13 and 19 inclusive
- all the numbers that end in -teen
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teen1
- informal another word for teenage
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teen2
- obsolete affliction or woe
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Word Origin
Old English tēona; related to Old Saxon tiono, Old Frisian tiona injury
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for teens
n.
1670s (plural), "teen-age years of a person," formed from -teen taken as a separate word. As "decade of years comprising numbers ending in -teen," from 1889.
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teen
n.
"teen-aged person," 1818 (but rare before 20c.), from -teen. As an adjective meaning "of or for teen-agers," from 1947.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper