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[jen-uh-rey-shuh n] /ˌdʒɛn əˈreɪ ʃən/
the entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time:
the postwar generation.
the term of years, roughly 30 among human beings, accepted as the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.
a group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age, having similar ideas, problems, attitudes, etc.
a group of individuals belonging to a specific category at the same time:
Chaplin belonged to the generation of silent-screen stars.
a single step in natural descent, as of human beings, animals, or plants.
a form, type, class, etc., of objects existing at the same time and having many similarities or developed from a common model or ancestor (often used in combination): a new generation of anticancer drugs;
a third-generation phone.
the offspring of a certain parent or couple, considered as a step in natural descent.
the act or process of generating; procreation.
the state of being generated.
production by natural or artificial processes; evolution, as of heat or sound.
  1. one complete life cycle.
  2. one of the alternate phases that complete a life cycle having more than one phase:
    the gametophyte generation.
Mathematics. the production of a geometrical figure by the motion of another figure.
Physics. one of the successive sets of nuclei produced in a chain reaction.
(in duplicating processes, as photocopying, film, etc.) the distance in duplicating steps that a copy is from the original work.
Origin of generation
1250-1300; Middle English generacioun < Middle French < Latin generātiōn- (stem of generātiō). See generate, -ion
Related forms
generational, adjective
generationally, adverb
intergeneration, noun
pregeneration, noun
subgeneration, noun Unabridged
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Examples from the Web for generation
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples
  • In each of these things what Arnold was to his generation Wells remarkably has been to ours.

    The World of H.G. Wells Van Wyck Brooks
  • The treatise "On the generation of Animals" is an extraordinary production.

    Fathers of Biology Charles McRae
  • Lighting fire, from refraction, generation illustrates, iii.

    Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 4 Plotinos (Plotinus)
  • A race is not developed in an hour or a decade or a generation.

    The Negro and the Nation George S. Merriam
  • It was an old-fashioned house, and more than one generation had grown up in it.

    Uncle Max Rosa Nouchette Carey
British Dictionary definitions for generation


the act or process of bringing into being; production or reproduction, esp of offspring
  1. a successive stage in natural descent of organisms: the time between when an organism comes into being and when it reproduces
  2. the individuals produced at each stage
a phase or form in the life cycle of a plant or animal characterized by a particular type of reproduction: the gametophyte generation
all the people of approximately the same age, esp when considered as sharing certain attitudes, etc
production of electricity, heat, etc
(physics) a set of nuclei formed directly from a preceding set in a chain reaction
(modifier, in combination)
  1. belonging to a generation specified as having been born in or as having parents, grandparents, etc, born in a given country: a third-generation American
  2. belonging to a specified stage of development in manufacture, usually implying improvement: a second-generation computer
Derived Forms
generational, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for generation

early 14c., "body of individuals born about the same period" (usually 30 years), from Old French generacion (12c.) and directly from Latin generationem (nominative generatio) "generating, generation," noun of action from past participle stem of generare "bring forth" (see genus). Meanings "act or process of procreation," "process of being formed," "offspring of the same parent" are late 14c.

Generation gap first recorded 1967; generation x is 1991, from Douglas Coupland book of that name; generation y attested by 1994. Related: Generational. Adjectival phrase first-generation, second-generation, etc. with reference to U.S. immigrants is from 1896.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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generation in Medicine

generation gen·er·a·tion (jěn'ə-rā'shən)

  1. A form or stage in the life cycle of an organism.

  2. All of the offspring that are at the same stage of descent from a common ancestor.

  3. The average interval of time between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.

  4. A group of individuals born and living about the same time.

  5. A group of generally contemporaneous individuals regarded as having common cultural or social characteristics and attitudes.

  6. The act or process of generating; origination, production, or procreation.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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generation in Science


  1. A form or stage in the life cycle of an organism. See more at alternation of generations.

  2. The formation of a line or geometric figure by the movement of a point or line.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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generation in Technology

An attempt to classify the degree of sophistication of programming languages.
See First generation language -- Fifth generation language.

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generation in the Bible

Gen. 2:4, "These are the generations," means the "history." 5:1, "The book of the generations," means a family register, or history of Adam. 37:2, "The generations of Jacob" = the history of Jacob and his descendants. 7:1, "In this generation" = in this age. Ps. 49:19, "The generation of his fathers" = the dwelling of his fathers, i.e., the grave. Ps. 73:15, "The generation of thy children" = the contemporary race. Isa. 53:8, "Who shall declare his generation?" = His manner of life who shall declare? or rather = His race, posterity, shall be so numerous that no one shall be able to declare it. In Matt. 1:17, the word means a succession or series of persons from the same stock. Matt. 3:7, "Generation of vipers" = brood of vipers. 24:34, "This generation" = the persons then living contemporary with Christ. 1 Pet. 2:9, "A chosen generation" = a chosen people. The Hebrews seem to have reckoned time by the generation. In the time of Abraham a generation was an hundred years, thus: Gen. 15:16, "In the fourth generation" = in four hundred years (comp. verse 13 and Ex. 12:40). In Deut. 1:35 and 2:14 a generation is a period of thirty-eight years.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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