teens

[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.
Origin
1595-1605; teen (extracted from numbers with -teen as final element) + -s3

teen1

[teen] /tin/
noun
1.
Archaic. suffering; grief.
2.
Obsolete. injury; harm.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English tene, Old English tēona; cognate with Old Frisian tiona, Old Saxon tiono, Old Norse tjōn

teen2

[teen] /tin/
adjective
1.
teenage.
noun
2.
a teenager.
Origin
1940-45; by shortening
Examples from the web for teens
  • Many species don't mate until they're in their teens, and then may bear small litters only once every two years.
  • When two teens are sitting together in the back seat of the car texting each other, there is vocal silence.
  • He'd gardened since he was old enough to hold a trowel, and in his teens he became interested in sustainable agriculture.
  • There are, in fact, solid correlations between how much reading teens do on their own and how well they perform in school.
  • Incredible scholars and indecisive teens choose them.
  • Most teens would be better off at home rather than suffer through the over-politicized system.
  • She had a summons for shoplifting when she was in her late teens, paid a fine, took a course and the charges were dropped.
  • Many teens wander off to college because there is no alternative to them.
  • The teens are no longer kids, but they're not really adults yet.
  • But over time, their brains became indistinguishable from those of healthy teens.
British Dictionary definitions for teens

teens

/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

teen1

/tiːn/
adjective
1.
(informal) another word for teenage

teen2

/tiːn/
noun
1.
(obsolete) affliction or woe
Word Origin
Old English tēona; related to Old Saxon tiono, Old Frisian tiona injury
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.

teen

n.

"teen-aged person," 1818 (but rare before 20c.), from -teen. As an adjective meaning "of or for teen-agers," from 1947.

Slang definitions & phrases for teens

teen

noun

A teenage person; teenager: a really interesting biz for a teen who loves being busy/ a robust health that would be remarkable on a teener/ ''You only pass this way once,'' he tells a teenie in persuading her to come along for a ride