generation
generation — noun
- generationsingular
- generationsplural
1. everyone belonging to a community or to one family line who arrived in life at r
everyone belonging to a community or to one family line who arrived in life at roughly the same period and often share similar experiences or views
The younger generation often has very different views on work and family from their parents.
younger generation / older generation — common contrasting collocations
Christopher's family has farmed this same land for three generations.
Ayesha believes her generation cares more about climate change than any previous one.
generation cares about [issue] — attitudinal collocation
The older generation in that neighbourhood still shares stories from the war years.
- younger generation
- older generation
- future generations
- past generations
- rising generation
- generation gap
Grammar Patterns
adjective + generation
generation of + plural noun
Usage Note
Often paired with adjectives like younger, older, new, rising, or lost to identify which age group is being discussed.
Common Mistakes
2. roughly 25 to 30 years — the typical gap between parents having children and tho
roughly 25 to 30 years — the typical gap between parents having children and those children growing up and raising families of their own
The family business has been handed down for more than a generation.
Within a single generation, the fishing village grew into a busy tourist town.
within a single generation — time-span prepositional phrase
A generation ago, very few households owned a personal computer.
a generation ago — reference point in the past
In one generation, the Chen family's farmland became a row of shops and houses.
in one generation — concrete transformation over a human time span
- within a generation
- a generation ago
- over generations
- a generation from now
- era
much longer and less precise; not tied to human reproduction cycles
Grammar Patterns
a generation
within a generation
a generation ago
Usage Note
Common in expressions that measure how much something changed over roughly 25–30 years, such as 'a generation ago' or 'within a generation'.
Common Mistakes
3. a single level in the chain of descent for living things, where parents produce
a single level in the chain of descent for living things, where parents produce offspring, and those offspring become the parents for the next level
Farmers have bred these wheat plants over many generations to resist disease.
over many generations — cumulative breeding pattern
The third generation of mice in the trial showed no signs of the genetic disorder.
Élise studied how traits are passed from one generation of fruit flies to the next.
from one generation to the next — standard inheritance pattern
Bacteria can go through many generations in just a few hours inside a warm dish.
- first generation
- second generation
- successive generations
- from one generation to the next
- over many generations
Grammar Patterns
ordinal number + generation of + plural noun
from one generation to the next
Usage Note
Used in biology and agriculture to discuss heredity and selective breeding. Often paired with a number (first, second, third) to indicate the descent level.
Common Mistakes
4. used after a number such as 'first', 'second', or 'third' to show which stage of
used after a number such as 'first', 'second', or 'third' to show which stage of a family was born in the new country rather than in the original home country
Tariq is a first-generation American whose parents moved from Egypt in the 1990s.
first-generation [nationality] — immigrant-status compound
Many second-generation immigrants speak their parents' native language at home but use English at school.
Lakan's grandparents came from Korea, which makes him a third-generation Korean-Canadian.
Eshe is fourth-generation Japanese-Brazilian and speaks Portuguese as her first language.
fourth-generation — longer immigration history
- first-generation
- second-generation
- third-generation
- first-generation immigrant
- second-generation citizen
Grammar Patterns
ordinal number + -generation + nationality noun
Usage Note
First-generation means the person was born in the new country to immigrant parents. Some conventions count the immigrants themselves as first-generation; check regional usage.
Common Mistakes
5. the process of producing energy, especially electricity or heat, from a particul
the process of producing energy, especially electricity or heat, from a particular source such as sun, wind, water, or fuel
The new hydroelectric dam will increase the region's electricity generation by thirty percent.
electricity generation — common compound noun
Solar power generation has become dramatically cheaper over the past ten years.
Solar power generation — [source] + generation compound
The company is investing heavily in cleaner methods of energy generation.
Nuclear power generation produces large amounts of electricity with very little fuel.
Nuclear power generation — compound with specific energy source
- electricity generation
- power generation
- energy generation
- solar generation
- wind generation
- generation capacity
- production
broader; can apply to any manufactured good, not just energy
- output
emphasises the amount produced rather than the process
Grammar Patterns
[energy source] + generation
generation of + energy type
Usage Note
Typically combined with the energy source as a compound noun — for example, 'wind generation', 'solar generation', 'power generation'. The 'of' form ('generation of electricity') is more formal.
Common Mistakes
6. the process of making something start to exist, especially something abstract su
the process of making something start to exist, especially something abstract such as ideas, wealth, or opportunities
The company holds weekly brainstorming sessions to encourage the generation of fresh ideas.
generation of [abstract noun] — formal creation pattern
Joon's research focuses on the generation of stable jobs in rural communities.
The report examines how tax policy affects the generation of wealth across different income groups.
Universities play a key role in the generation of new knowledge through research and publication.
- generation of ideas
- generation of wealth
- generation of knowledge
- generation of jobs
- generation of income
- creation
more general and more common in everyday language
- production
more concrete; often refers to manufacturing physical goods
Grammar Patterns
generation of + abstract noun
Usage Note
Distinguish from sense 5 (ENERGY PRODUCTION): sense 6 applies to abstract or general creation, not specifically energy. Common in academic or formal writing with nouns like 'ideas', 'wealth', 'jobs', 'knowledge'.
Common Mistakes
7. all items of a particular type, such as phones or computers, that come out durin
all items of a particular type, such as phones or computers, that come out during one phase of technical progress, with each newer set being more capable than the one before
The new generation of electric cars can travel much farther on a single charge.
new generation of [product class] — technology product cycle
Valentina just bought the latest generation of smartwatch, which tracks her sleep and heart rate.
This phone belongs to the previous generation, so it cannot run the newest operating system.
previous generation — technological obsolescence pattern
Gaming consoles typically get a new generation every six or seven years.
- new generation
- next generation
- previous generation
- first-generation
- second-generation
- third-generation
- next-generation technology
Grammar Patterns
ordinal number + generation of + plural noun
the next/previous generation of + plural noun
Usage Note
Very common in technology marketing and reviews. A 'next-generation' product is one that has significant improvements over what came before.
Common Mistakes
8. the natural biological process by which living things produce offspring, continu
the natural biological process by which living things produce offspring, continuing the existence of a species
The textbook examines the role of generation and reproduction across different animal species.
generation and reproduction — paired formal biological terms
Dr. Ayana Okafor studied three generations of zebrafish in her lab to learn how fin tissue regenerates after injury.
three generations of [species] — generational study in biology
Owen's research focuses on generation in marine mammals that live in freezing polar waters.
The museum exhibit explains the history of scientific ideas about spontaneous generation.
spontaneous generation — fixed historical term
- human generation
- spontaneous generation
- generation and reproduction
- procreation
narrower in meaning; strictly refers to producing offspring
- reproduction
more common in modern science; broader, including cell division and cloning
Grammar Patterns
human generation
generation and reproduction
Usage Note
This is a formal, technical sense used mainly in biology, medicine, and historical texts about reproduction. In everyday speech, 'reproduction' or 'having children' is far more common.
Word family
- generateverbB2
- generativeadjectiveC1
- generatornounB2
- generationaladjectiveB2
- intergenerationaladjectiveC1
- regenerateverbC1
- regenerationnounC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
Generation refers to people born around the same time who share cultural or historical experiences — for example, 'the post-war generation' or 'the digital generation'. Cohort is a more technical term used in research and statistics for a group of people tracked over time (e.g., 'the 1995 birth cohort'), and it does not imply shared cultural identity. Age group is broader: it covers any span of years, such as 'the 18–25 age group', and does not require a shared birth era. Peers highlights similarity in age or status within a social setting ('teenagers and their peers'), but it does not carry the historical or family meaning that generation does. When discussing how parents and children differ, use generation (generation gap). When analysing survey data by year of birth, use cohort.
Common collocations
Etymology
The word comes from Latin 'generatio' (begetting, procreation), from 'generare' (to produce, bring forth), which is built on 'genus' (birth, race, stock, family). The root 'gen-' is the same one found in 'gene', 'genetic', and 'general', all carrying the basic idea of origin, kind, or birth. The word entered English through Old French 'generacion' in the 1300s, originally referring to the act of procreation, and gradually broadened to cover groups of people born at the same time, and later to any stage of technological development.