# generation

/ˌdʒɛnɝˈeɪʃən/ (US) · /dʒˌɛnəɹˈeɪʃən/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/generation
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. people of the same age

noun · CEFR B1

all the people born and living at about the same time.

For teachers: a cohort of individuals born and living within the same historical period, typically spanning about thirty years.

- My grandfather's generation lived through very difficult times during the war.
- Sociologists often study how each generation develops its own unique cultural identity in response to the political climate of its youth.

### 2. producing something

noun · CEFR B2 · Academic · Technical

the act of making or producing something, especially energy or heat.

For teachers: the process of producing or creating something, particularly in a technical or industrial context.

- The wind farm is used for the generation of clean electricity.
- The rapid generation of heat during the chemical reaction required the engineers to install an advanced cooling system.

### 3. family stage

noun · CEFR B1

one step in the history of a family, such as from parent to child.

For teachers: a single stage in the succession of natural descent; a rank or degree in a genealogy.

- The farm has been owned by the same family for four generations.
- The family tree reveals that the artistic talent has skipped a generation, reappearing in the great-grandchildren.

### 4. technology version

noun · CEFR B2

a stage in the development of a product or technology.

For teachers: a distinct stage in the development of technology or a specific product line.

- The latest generation of smartphones has much better cameras than the old ones.
- The transition to the next generation of wireless networks promised significantly lower latency for industrial applications.

### 5. copy of a recording

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a copy of a video or sound recording made from an earlier one.

For teachers: a single stage in the duplication process of a recording, where each subsequent copy is a new generation.

- The video quality is poor because this is a third-generation copy of the tape.
- In the era of analogue tape, engineers had to be careful about generation loss during the editing and mastering process.

Usage: Often used in the phrase 'generation loss' to describe quality reduction.

## Examples

- My generation uses social media more than my parents' generation.
- The documentary explores how the younger generation is adapting to the rapid changes in the television industry.
- The transition to renewable energy requires the efficient generation of power from wind and solar sources to replace aging coal-fired plants that have served the region for decades.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.