Caucasian
Americanadjective
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Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) of, relating to, or characteristic of one of the traditional racial divisions of humankind, marked by fair to dark skin, straight to tightly curled hair, and light to very dark eyes, and originally inhabiting Europe, parts of North Africa, western Asia, and India.
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a brown-haired Caucasian female with a tattoo on her left shoulder.
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of or relating to the Caucasus mountain range.
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Linguistics. of or related to the non-Indo-European, non-Turkic languages of the Caucasus region.
noun
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Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) a member of the peoples traditionally classified as the Caucasian race, especially those peoples having light to fair skin.
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a white person.
The chef at this awesome new Indian restaurant is actually a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian from Montana.
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a native of Caucasia.
adjective
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old-fashioned another word for Caucasoid
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of or relating to the Caucasus
noun
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a White person; a Caucasoid
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a native or inhabitant of Caucasia
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any of three possibly related families of languages spoken in the Caucasus: North-West Caucasian, including Circassian and Abkhaz, North-East Caucasian , including Avar, and South Caucasian including Georgian
Usage
The word Caucasian is very widely used in the US to refer to people of European origin or people who are White, even though the original classification was broader than this
Pop Culture
— The Caucasian Chalk Circle: A 1944 modernist play by German playwright Bertolt Brecht. — Caucasian Review of International Affairs: An academic journal dealing with the Caucasus region, published quarterly. —Caucasian Ovcharka: A breed of dogs, also called the Caucasian Shepherd.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of Caucasian
First recorded in 1800–10; from Latin Caucas(eus), Caucas(ius), derivative of Caucasus, from Greek Kaúkasos; + -ian adjective suffix; see Caucasus, -ian
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.
They also suggest that similar misclassification patterns are likely in White Caucasian populations in other countries in Europe and Worldwide.
From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026
A “regular, like, Caucasian man,” as described by Tyler, the Creator, the beloved, chart-topping Los Angeles rapper.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 26, 2025
“It is the moment I realized that if I want to stay in America, I have to do a movie about Caucasian people,” said Phanxinê, who goes by a one-name moniker professionally.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 15, 2024
Outside sources called in by coroner’s and homicide investigators determined that the remains belonged to a Caucasian or Latino man, over 40 years old, who was 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2024
The North Korean government turned him into an actor who always played an evil Caucasian face in propaganda movies that demonized the United States.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
