Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A child between middle childhood and adolescence, usually between 8 and 12 years old.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun nonce word A number in the twenties, or from 23 to 32.
  • noun A person who is neither a young child nor an adolescent, one of an age in the range of 8 to 12 years old or a similar range.
  • noun A person who is in his or her twenties.
  • verb cinematography To generate intermediate frames in an animated sequence so as to give the appearance of smooth movement

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Blend of teen and between.]

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Examples

  • I knew what the term tween was, but when people say that, what are they really getting at?

    humor « WordPress.com Tag Feed bizemom 2010

  • And if you use the word 'tween,' I'm going to puke.

    NYT > Home Page By ERIC WILSON 2011

  • They as "one" are now what I call tween ... or time's now new center of wisdom's two emotional intelligences.

    Propeller Most Popular Stories 2010

  • They as "one" are now what I call tween ... or time's now new center of wisdom's two emotional intelligences.

    Propeller Most Popular Stories 2010

  • Her books are nothing but contrived morality tales, instilling in tween girls the ideas that their “one true love” will have a treacherous relationship with them, and if they give in to “temptation” Bella will die.

    'New Moon': A Hater's Guide | EW.com 2009

  • Its a touchy subject because you can't group every tween as not responsable and you cant say that every tween is responsable.

    Should Tweens Hunt Alone? Dave Hurteau 2008

  • However, over the past 250 years or so, prescriptive grammarians have privileged the etymology of the word tween - 'two', though often failing to live up to their own prescriptions.

    On between each DC 2009

  • FYI the word tween makes me sick, which perhaps someday I'll explain why.

    Archive 2009-02-01 Josh Bycer 2009

  • I think I'd hardly get off with a whole skin 'tween the one and t'other.

    The Wide, Wide World 1892

  • (link) Ugh, from a retail perspective the word "tween" is used to classify sometimes grossly misguided attempts to market to that age group.

    slayground: Books for the Ages: or, Why I Don't Use the Term MG Little Willow 2007

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