greatest generation

English

Alternative forms

• Greatest Generation

Etymology

Popularized by the 1998 book The Greatest Generation.

Proper noun

the greatest generation

1. The generation of people who came of age during the Great Depression and went on to fight in World War II, especially those born from the early 1900s to late 1920s.

   Synonyms: G.I. Generation, World War II generation

   • 1998, Tom Brokaw, The Greatest Generation, Random House, →ISBN, page 386:

     Other members of the greatest generation found their life's calling in uniform, continuing to serve in the military after the war and helping it to adapt to the changing times.

   • 2004 July 29, John Kerry, 2004 Democratic National Convention Acceptance Address‎^[1]:

     My dad did the things that a boy remembers. […] He also taught me that we are here for something bigger than ourselves; he lived out the responsibilities and the sacrifices of the greatest generation to whom we owe so much.

   • 2013, Kenneth Rose, Myth and the Greatest Generation, Routledge, →ISBN, page 2:

     What we have instead is the Greatest Generation, an idea that delineates one of the most important developments in the national mythos over the last several decades.

See also

• lost generation
• Silent Generation
• baby boom
• Generation Jones

Timeline of generations

Further reading

• Greatest Generation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia