teen

1
[ teen ]
See synonyms for: teenteenerteenestteens on Thesaurus.com

adjective
noun
  1. a teenager.

Origin of teen

1
First recorded in 1940–45; by shortening

Other definitions for teen (2 of 3)

teen2
[ teen ]

noun
  1. Archaic. suffering; grief.

  2. Obsolete. injury; harm.

Origin of teen

2
before 1000; Middle English tene,Old English tēona; cognate with Old Frisian tiona,Old Saxon tiono,Old Norse tjōn

Other definitions for -teen (3 of 3)

-teen

  1. a suffix used to form cardinal numerals from 13 to 19.

Origin of -teen

3
Middle English, Old English -tēne, combining form of ten; cognate with Dutch -tien,German -zehn

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use teen in a sentence

  • In the year 1819 an act of Parliament was proposed limiting the labor of children nine years of age to four-teen hours a day.

    The Profits of Religion | Upton Sinclair
  • She seemed to be more like a somewhat bashful teen-ager who had been educated in a convent.

    Unwise Child | Gordon Randall Garrett
  • Expone e too versus afore: this present craft ys called Algorismus, in e quych we vse teen signys of Inde.

  • But he vndirstondes e first figure at is in e nombur of e forsayd teen figuris, e quych is one of ese.

  • I once visited in a home where a teen-age girl was having one of her frequent “tragic” love experiences.

    Herein is Love | Reuel L. Howe

British Dictionary definitions for teen (1 of 3)

teen1

/ (tiːn) /


adjective
  1. informal another word for teenage

British Dictionary definitions for teen (2 of 3)

teen2

/ (tiːn) /


noun
  1. obsolete affliction or woe

Origin of teen

2
Old English tēona; related to Old Saxon tiono, Old Frisian tiona injury

British Dictionary definitions for -teen (3 of 3)

-teen

n combining form
  1. ten: added to modified forms of the numbers 3 to 9 to form the numbers 13 to 19

Origin of -teen

3
Old English -tēne, -tӯne

Derived forms of -teen

  • -teenth, adj combining form

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