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• Native American
  Native American

  noun

  Indian.
• native American
  native American

  noun

  a person born in the United States.

Native American

¹ American  

[ney-tiv uh-mer-i-kuhn] / ˈneɪ tɪv əˈmɛr ɪ kən /

noun

1. Indian.

2. a member of any of the aboriginal peoples of the Americas, including Indians and non-Indians.

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native American ² American  

noun

1. a person born in the United States.

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Native American British  

noun

1. A member of the indigenous peoples of North America

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Native Americans or any of their languages

Sensitive Note

See Indian, Eskimo.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• native-American
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of native American

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Example Sentences

The ordinance included language that excludes equestrian events, as well as American Indian, Native American, Indigenous Rodeo, Mexican Charreria and Escaramuza events that don’t involve the activities cited in the law.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

The findings may also prove valuable for Native American tribes located within or near the park.

From Science Daily • Jun. 2, 2026

A song clip from Native American author and poet John Trudell.

From Salon • May 12, 2026

“It’s what we dreamed of,” said Polly Girvin, Hunter’s former partner and a retired lawyer focused on Native American issues.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2026

Southwest and Mississippi Valley to the modern American breadbaskets of California and Oregon, where Native American societies remained hunter-gatherers merely because they lacked appropriate domesticates.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond