Filipino

American  

[fil-uh-pee-noh] / ˌfɪl əˈpi noʊ /

Or filipino

adjective

1. of or relating to inhabitants of the Philippines or to people of Philippine origin or descent; Philippine.

   Filipino immigrants living and working in Hawaii.

---

noun

Filipinos plural

1. Sometimes Offensive. an inhabitant of the Philippines or a person of Philippine origin or descent.

2. Pilipino.

Filipino British  

/ ˌfɪlɪˈpiːnəʊ /

noun

1. Also (feminine): Filipina.  a native or inhabitant of the Philippines

2. another name for Tagalog

---

adjective

1. of or relating to the Philippines or their inhabitants

Sensitive Note

Use as a noun in reference to a person (e.g., “a Filipino”) is sometimes considered offensive.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• Filipinos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Filipino

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Spanish, derived from (las Islas) Filipinas “the Philippine Islands”; see origin at Philippines

Example Sentences

In November 2022, Tom Nicholson Jnr's father Thomas Nicholson – who led TN Trawlers – admitted failing to get adequate care for a Filipino crewman, Joel Quince.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

The supply chain is a straight line of dependencies: Filipino consumers rely on Vietnamese rice, and Vietnamese farmers rely on Chinese fertiliser.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

Filipino ferry dispatcher Dave Delos Reyes has been handing out N95 masks for nearly three weeks to protect passengers against the smoke that a landfill fire has sent billowing above a stretch of Manila Bay.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

LIAN, Philippines—Since oil prices surged in the wake of the U.S.-Iran war, Filipino vegetable farmer Bic Pagkaliwangan’s already thin earnings have shrunk by half.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

He tells her the Filipino underground is sending information about the Japanese to General Douglas MacArthur to help plan the liberation of the Philippines.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly