used todescribethenationalityof someonebelongingto the first, second, third, etc.groupofpeopleof the sameagein thefamilyto have beenbornin thatcountry:
She's a first-generation American(= she wasbornandraisedin the US, but herparentswere not).
Many are second-generationAmericanswith lessattachmentto thepartythantheirparents.
She's athird-generationJapaneseAmerican who has written twoacclaimednovels.
A second-generation Mexican-American, shegrewup in Texas.
"Ithoughtyou said you were Nigerian?" "Yes, secondgeneration."