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generation definition

gen·er·a·tion (jen′ər ā′s̸hən)

noun

  1. the act or process of producing offspring; procreation
  2. a bringing into being; production
  3. a single stage or degree in the succession of natural descent father and son are two generations
  4. the average period (about thirty years) between the birth of one generation and that of the next
    1. all the people born and living at about the same time
    2. a group of such people with the same experience, attitude, etc. in common the computer generation
  6. any of the stages of successive improvement in the development of a product, system, etc.
  7. Geom. the formation of a curve, plane, or figure by the motion of a point, line, or plane

Etymology: ME generacioun < OFr generacion < L generatio < generatus: see generate

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

medical generation definition - medical

generation Synonyms

generation

n.

  1. The act of producing

    engendering, formation, creation; see production 1.

  2. The act of producing offspring

    procreation, propagation, reproduction, breeding, bearing, spawning, bringing forth, multiplying, fructifying.

    Antonyms perishing, dying out, becoming extinct.

  3. One cycle in the succession of parents and children

    age, crop, rank, contemporaries, peers, coevals, peer group, age group.

  4. The time required for a generation, sense 3

    span, 20 to 30 years, period; see age 3.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

generation Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • succeed: Archeological sites have always been built over as succeeding generations build on the remains of their predecessors.

Adjective modifier

  • future: How do you think future generations will view Bond?

Modifies a noun

  • gap: That's where the so-called generation gap comes in.

Noun used with modifier

  • electricity: In Britain, total emissions have fallen because electricity generation has switched from coal to gas which produces less Carbon Dioxide.

Preposition: of

  • scholar: As this collection acknowledges, Bann's writings have ' oriented the concerns of a generation of scholars ' .

Preposition: from

  • renewables: Make a % generation from renewables statutory in planning policy statements.
generation usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

generation quotes

To my generation no other English poet seemed so perfectly to express the sensibility of a male adolescent. If I do not now turn to him very often, I am eternally grateful to him for the joy he gave me in my youth.

-Auden,W(ystan) H(ugh)

It seems to be typical of life in America, where opportunities, real and fancied, are thicker than anywhere else on the globe, that the second generation has no time to talk to the first.

-Baldwin,James Arthur

And God spake all these words, saying,Iamthe L thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that isinheaven above, or that isin the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the L thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thoushalt nottakethename of the L thy God invain; for the L will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember thesabbath day, to keep it holy. Six daysthou shalt labour and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the L thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the L made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the L blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long uponthelandwhichtheL thy Godgiveththee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

-Bible (Old Testament)

generation quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"generation." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/generation>

APA Style

generation. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/generation

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