Collins English-English Dictionary

generation [,ʤεnə'reɪʃən]

1. 1. n the act or process of bringing into being; production or reproduction, esp of offspring

2. 2. n a successive stage in natural descent of organisms: the time between when an organism comes into being and when it reproduces

3. 3. n the individuals produced at each stage

4. 4. n the normal or average time between two such generations of a species: about 35 years for humans

5. 5. n a phase or form in the life cycle of a plant or animal characterized by a particular type of reproduction

   the gametophyte generation

6. 6. n all the people of approximately the same age, esp when considered as sharing certain attitudes, etc

7. 7. n production of electricity, heat, etc

8. 8. n [physics] a set of nuclei formed directly from a preceding set in a chain reaction

9. 9. n [modifier, in combination] belonging to a generation specified as having been born in or as having parents, grandparents, etc, born in a given country

   a third-generation American

10. 10. n belonging to a specified stage of development in manufacture, usually implying improvement

    a second-generation computer