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Sami

American  
[so-mee] / ˈsɒ mi /

noun

Samis, plural Sami plural
  1. a member of a Finnic people of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and adjacent regions.

  2. any of the languages of the Sami, closely related to Finnish.


Sami British  
/ ˈsɑːmɪ /

noun

  1. a member of the indigenous people of Lapland

  2. the language of this people, belonging to the Finno-Ugric family

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. of or relating to this people or their language

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

The indigenous people of Lapland prefer to be called Sami, although Lapp is still in widespread use

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

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:

The former Nottingham Forest boss was only appointed in January replacing Sami Trabelsi, who left his role following a last-16 defeat to Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations.

From BBC Jun. 16, 2026

Sami Pajari finished 46sec behind to complete the podium and make Toyota the first manufacturer since Citroen in 2010 to claim back-to-back podium lockouts in the WRC.

From Barron's Feb. 15, 2026

Sami Ponoroff, senior manager of programming for Lifetime, is an avid player and a member of a club called iPickle.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 18, 2025

She described the last few months as extremely difficult as she had to tell her three children Summer, 16, Sami, 22, and Finley, 20, that this Christmas could well be her last.

From BBC Dec. 12, 2025

He comes up sputtering and shivering, even though he’s wearing a wet suit and scuba goggles, while Sami dances around him and trash-talks.

From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan

When Chicago-based investment firm Walton Street Capital bought Smith Tower and the Florence Building from the Seattle-based nonprofit organization Samis Foundation in 2006, the company planned to convert a portion of the tower to condos.

From Seattle Times Aug. 8, 2023

“We’re proud of the students for responding to this call for help and we, at Samis, were honored to play a small role in supporting the mission,” says Eli Genuaer, Samis Foundation board chair.

From Seattle Times Aug. 31, 2022

To learn more about sending your child to Jewish day school and find out if you are eligible for a Day School Affordability Initiative grant, check out Samis website today.

From Seattle Times Aug. 31, 2022

Many Samis would be classified as “white” in an American context, while others would be considered “Eurasian.”

From Slate Nov. 21, 2019

I feel it that Skolt Samis are moving forward.

From BBC Oct. 16, 2019

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