American
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the United States of America or its inhabitants.
an American citizen.
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of or relating to North or South America; of the Western Hemisphere.
the American continents.
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of or relating to the Indigenous peoples of North and South America.
noun
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Americans
plural
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a citizen of the United States of America.
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a native or inhabitant of North or South America.
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an Indigenous person of North or South America.
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a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, four driving wheels, and no rear truck.
adjective
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of or relating to the United States of America, its inhabitants, or their form of English
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of or relating to the American continent
noun
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a native or citizen of the US
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a native or inhabitant of any country of North, Central, or South America
-
the English language as spoken or written in the United States
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of American
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Following her critically acclaimed “Fountain Baby,” the Ghanaian American singer emerges with “Black Star,” her most fearless and culturally resonant album yet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
“This is the … physical counterpart of the capital spending recorded in the American accounts,” Cates adds.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
The purported hollowing out of the American dream has recently been the subject of many a hand-wringing headline or newspaper column.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Why is American college football coming to the UK?
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
“I’m sorry, sir,” Regan said, “but I don’t know. Maybe sometime around the American Revolution?”
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Last spring, Pew Research Center released its annual survey comparing how Americans and others around the world view the United States’ global role.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
I believe artificial intelligence has become a dominating subject in America because Americans by nature have imaginations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
And Asian Americans have extremely elevated rates of certain diseases, including tuberculosis and hepatitis B.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Congresswoman Young Kim, the chairwoman of the subcommittee, opened the hearing by warning Americans: "If you travel to China, Beijing may take you hostage as leverage in diplomatic negotiation."
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
He was furious at me for taking his saw without permission and letting the Americans take it away.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
