teen

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /tiːn/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like tin /ɪ/ vs /iː/

Freq #7771

Meanings

1

noun
A person between 13 and 19 years old.

Many teens spend a lot of time on their phones.
2

adj
Relating to or aimed at teenagers.

The magazine covers teen fashion and music.
3

adj
Aged between 13 and 19.

She has two teen sons still living at home.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person between 13 and 19... teenager adolescent

3 adj · aged between 13 and 19. adolescent

Word family

Derived forms alternateenlgbteenpreteenstepteenteen-napteen-sitteen-sitterteendomteenhoodteenie

Etymology

From Middle English tenen, tinen, from Old English tȳnan (“to fence, inclose, shut, close”), from Proto-West Germanic *tūnijan, from Proto-West Germanic *tūn, from Proto-Germanic *tūną (“fence, enclosure”). Doublet of tine. Cognate with Dutch tuinen, German zäunen. Related to English town.

tenen Middle English tȳnan Old English *tūnijan Proto-West Germanic *tūn Proto-West Germanic *tūną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# teen

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /tiːn/
**Frequency rank:** 7771

## Meanings
1. A person between 13 and 19 years old.
2. Relating to or aimed at teenagers.
3. Aged between 13 and 19.

## Examples
- Many teens spend a lot of time on their phones.
- The magazine covers teen fashion and music.
- She has two teen sons still living at home.

## Derived Forms
- alternateen
- lgbteen
- preteen
- stepteen
- teen-nap
- teen-sit
- teen-sitter
- teendom
- teenhood
- teenie

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tenen
- Root: tȳnan
- Root: *tūnijan
- Root: *tūn
- Root: *tūną

## Etymology
From Middle English tenen, tinen, from Old English tȳnan (“to fence, inclose, shut, close”), from Proto-West Germanic *tūnijan, from Proto-West Germanic *tūn, from Proto-Germanic *tūną (“fence, enclosure”). Doublet of tine. Cognate with Dutch tuinen, German zäunen. Related to English town.

## AI Etymology
Teen is from Middle English tenen, tinen, from Old English tȳnan (“to fence, inclose, shut, close”), from Proto-West Germanic *tūnijan, from Proto-West Germanic *tūn, from Proto-Germanic *tūną (“fence, enclosure”). Doublet of tine. Cognate with Dutch tuinen, German zäunen. Related to English town. In present-day use, it can mean a person between 13 and 19 years old, or relating to or aimed at teenagers.

## Topics
- People & Society

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