- 1[countable] all the people who were born at about the same time the younger/older generation My generation has grown up without the experience of a world war. I often wonder what future generations will make of our efforts.
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- 2[countable] the average time in which children grow up, become adults, and have children of their own (usually considered to be about 30 years) a generation ago My family has lived in this house for generations.
- 3[countable, uncountable] a single stage in the history of a family stories passed down from generation to generation a first-/second-generation American (= a person whose family has lived in America for one/two generations)
- 4[countable, usually singular] a group of people of similar age involved in a particular activity She has inspired a whole generation of fashion school graduates.
- 5[countable, usually singular] a stage in the development of a product, usually a technical one fifth-generation computing a new generation of vehicle
- 6[uncountable] the production of something, especially electricity, heat, etc. the generation of electricity methods of income generation
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