tweener

American  

[tween-er] / ˈtwin ər /

noun

plural

tweeners

1. Sports. a player whose size or skills do not qualify them ideally for either of two positions.

2. Tennis. a stroke by a player that sends the ball between the player's own legs.

3. a thing or person that does not quite fit into either of two categories, such as light versus midsize pickup truck, tablet versus laptop, academic versus general educational stream, etc.

4. tween.

---

Example Sentences

Gates still held out NBA hopes, but he was a tweener at that size, too small to play forward at the next level.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2025

On his serve at 3-3, he produced a trademark tweener and backed it up by putting away a sharp volley.

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2024

Still, I say all this and yet can’t help myself: I want the tweener devices to work.

From The Verge • Aug. 10, 2022

Even without Williams, the Celtics can depend on Al Horford or tweener Grant Williams; both are capable of taking on tricky defensive assignments.

From Washington Post • May 29, 2022

Pitre is kind of a tweener between an NFL linebacker and safety, but teams have found way to utilize players like that in recent years.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 29, 2021