: a boy or girl not yet 13 years old
1
: relating to or produced for children especially in the 9 to 12 year-old age group
preteen fashions
2
: being younger than 13
Examples of preteen in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Curt Devine, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
The man set to become one of the world’s youngest artificial intelligence billionaires started his entrepreneurial journey as a bored preteen living in Los Angeles.
—Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Dana Taylor, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026
He was accused of inappropriately touching or taking an unusual interest in at least seven preteen students within a three-year period working within District 203, though Naperville police at the time said no complaints had been filed locally.
—Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for preteen
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Noun
As a preteen, Penelope met people online through the gaming site Roblox, which Sokolowski sought to monitor.
—Curt Devine, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
The man set to become one of the world’s youngest artificial intelligence billionaires started his entrepreneurial journey as a bored preteen living in Los Angeles.
—Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
And Sabrina is sort of the Olivia Rodrigo of the past year as far as the preteen girl following and even older than that, going into 20-something-year-old women.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026
He was accused of inappropriately touching or taking an unusual interest in at least seven preteen students within a three-year period working within District 203, though Naperville police at the time said no complaints had been filed locally.
—Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for preteen
Cite this Entry
“Preteen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preteen. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
preteen
1 of 2 noun
pre·teen
ˈprē-ˈtēn 
: a boy or girl not yet 13 years old
preteen
2 of 2 adjective1
: relating to or produced for children especially in the 9 to 12 year-old age group
preteen fashions
2
: being younger than 13 years old
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