'tween

American

[tween] / twin /

preposition

contraction of between.

noun

Also tween, a youngster between 10 and 12 years of age, considered too old to be a child and too young to be a teenager.

'tween British

/ twiːn /

contraction

between

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of 'tween

1250–1300; Middle English twene, aphetic variant of atwene ( a- ¹ ) or betwene between

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And Wavertree once again has its ’tween deck, a modest level between the main deck and the cargo hold that had been absent for decades.

From New York Times • May 29, 2016

“Speaking of ‘tween heartthrobs, Scott Brown is here.

From MSNBC • Apr. 24, 2015

Weeping like a ’tween at a Justin Bieber concert, like a cougar at a “Twilight” premiere, like a little leaguer meeting Mickey Mantle.

From Salon • Aug. 6, 2012

"How do you deal with comments from managers such as 'I was born in 1962' and people referring to me as a 'tween?"

From Washington Post • Aug. 7, 2010

I head to a dark corner of the ’tween deck, hoping he won’t see me.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023