jean

noun

ˈjēn 

plural jeans

1

: a durable twilled cotton cloth used especially for sportswear and work clothes

2

usually jeans

ˈjēnz 

: pants usually made of denim or jean

… strolling with royal puppy Lupo through Kensington Gardens near the couple's two-bedroom cottage in a pair of jeans and rain boots.

—Alicia Dennis et al.

Millions of people today buy designer jeans for double the price of equally durable generic jeans …

—Jared Diamond

see also blue jeans, mom jeans

Examples of jean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Both in jeans and black blazers, Ellison and Kreiz fielded questions from the national press for nearly 30 minutes on the lot’s Stage 3. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026

My parents also took us to the market, to buy jeans, shirts, shoes, socks, and a belt. — Mosab Abu Toha, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026

Low-rise, slouchy jeans were the unofficial street style uniform of Milan Fashion Week. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026

Kidman sat front row with daughter Faith Urban, who wore a gray Chanel cardigan with jeans. — Marci Robin, Allure, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

short for jean fustian, from Middle English Gene Genoa, Italy + fustian

First Known Use

1567, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing jean

• jean shorts

Rhymes for jean

• bean
• bein
• bien
• bouin
• clean
• deen
• diene
• gene
• glean
• keen
• lien
• mean

Kids Definition

jean

noun

ˈjēn 

1

: a heavy cotton cloth used especially for sportswear and work clothes

2

plural : pants made of jean, denim, or corduroy

Etymology

a shortened form of earlier jean fustian, literally "a fustian (heavy cotton cloth) from Genoa," from Middle English Gene "Genoa, Italy"