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teens

American  
[teenz] / tinz /

plural noun

  1. 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.

teens British  
/ tiːnz /

plural noun

  1. the years of a person's life between the ages of 13 and 19 inclusive

  2. all the numbers that end in -teen

"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

Etymology

Origin of teens

1595–1605; teen (extracted from numbers with -teen as final element) + -s 3

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.

In my late teens I carried “Monument Eternal” around with me in the same way my devout Christian friends would carry their pocket-size Bibles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

She's been drinking a popular sugary corner shop drink that people in their teens and 20s have been getting their older relatives to try as a joke.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

Adjust for those factors and the effective price/earnings ratio is lower, roughly in the high teens.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

Purdue then filed additional documents with new requirements but no mention of the earlier affidavit option for adults or teens.

From Salon • Apr. 24, 2026

Early on, both sisters sound like typical young teens, sometimes teasing and full of fun, other times bored or frustrated.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

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.