English Reference

Word

teens

US/ˈtinz/

UK/tˈiːnz/

Definitions

01people aged 13 to 19

A2

n. young people who are between 13 and 19 years old.

n. plural form of 'teen', referring to individuals in the adolescent stage of development.

“The shop is very popular with local teens who come here after school.”

“Market researchers are increasingly focused on how teens influence household spending through their social media presence.”

Antonyms

02the age range

B1

n. the period of your life when you are between 13 and 19 years old.

n. the years of human life spanning from the thirteenth to the nineteenth year.

“She spent most of her teens living in a small town in the mountains.”

“Navigating one's teens can be a turbulent experience as social pressures and biological changes coincide.”

Synonyms

adolescenceteenage years

03numbers 13 to 19

B2 · Math

n. the numbers that end in '-teen', from 13 to 19.

n. the cardinal numbers within the range of thirteen to nineteen inclusive.

“The temperature is expected to stay in the high teens all week.”

“The survey results showed that support for the new policy was only in the low teens among the older demographic.”

04the second decade of a century

C1

n. the years from '13 to '19 in any century, like 1913 to 1919.

n. the years from thirteen to nineteen within a specific century.

“Many famous poems were written during the teens of the twentieth century.”

“Economic instability during the late teens of the nineteenth century led to significant social unrest across the continent.”

Formal

Synonyms

the tens

Real-World Examples

“For every bullying post there is another offering support to marginalized teens.”
Smithsonian Magazine · 17 Aug 2026
“Can dogs help teens cope with peer stress?”
Phys.org · 17 Aug 2026
“Done well, solutions cocreated with teens could make communities better for all of us by increasing safety and social opportunities.”
The Conversation · 23 Jul 2026
“In each era, teens identified themselves by what they watched, listened to and read, where they hung out and how they talked to one another.”
Smithsonian Magazine · 17 Jun 2026

Etymology

The final syllable of the numbers from thirteen to nineteen. More at teen.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Collocations

teens already

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/teens

English Reference