I. teen 1 /tiːn/ BrE AmE adjective [only before noun] informal
[ Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: teenage ]
relating to teenagers or used by teenagers SYN teenage :
a rock star and teen idol
a teen magazine
II. teen 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . American English informal a teenager
2 . teens [plural] your teens is the period of your life when you are between 13 and 19 years old
be in your teens
She was in her teens when she met him.
early/late teens
We moved to York when I was in my early teens.
III. teen ‧ ag ‧ er /ˈtiːneɪdʒə $ -ər/ BrE AmE ( also teen informal ) noun [countable]
someone who is between 13 and 19 years old:
a TV sex education series aimed at teenagers
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THESAURUS
▪ child someone who is not yet an adult. You don’t usually use child to talk about babies or teenagers:
Many children are scared of the dark.
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He’s just a child.
▪ kid informal a child. Kid is the usual word to use in everyday spoken English:
We left the kids in the car.
▪ little boy/little girl a young male or female child:
I lived there when I was a little girl.
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Little boys love dinosaurs.
▪ teenager someone between the ages of 13 and 19:
There’s not much for teenagers to do around here.
▪ adolescent a young person who is developing into an adult – used especially when talking about the problems these people have:
He changed from a cheerful child to a confused adolescent.
▪ youth especially disapproving a teenage boy – especially one who is violent and commits crimes:
He was attacked by a gang of youths.
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a youth court
▪ youngster a child or young person – used especially by old people:
You youngsters have got your whole life ahead of you.
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He’s a bright youngster with a good sense of humour.
▪ minor law someone who is not yet legally an adult:
It is illegal to sell alcohol to a minor.