Tibetan

American  

[ti-bet-n] / tɪˈbɛt n /

Or Thibetan

adjective

1. of or relating to Tibet, its inhabitants, or their language.

---

noun

1. a member of the people native to or inhabiting Tibet.

2. the Sino-Tibetan language of Tibet, especially in its standard literary form.

Tibetan British  

/ tɪˈbɛtən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Tibet, its people, or their language

---

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Tibet

2. the language of Tibet, belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family

Etymology

Origin of Tibetan

First recorded in 1740–50; Tibet + -an

Example Sentences

Gere has been involved in humanitarian work for decades and has helped fund projects to support refugees, public health, education and emergency relief as well as culture, especially in Tibetan communities.

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

The 90-year-old Dalai Lama, based in India since fleeing the Tibetan capital Lhasa after Chinese troops crushed an uprising in 1959, insists he has many more years to live.

From Barron's • May 27, 2026

On the other side of the barricades, one of the largest groups of anti-Xi demonstrators in recent American memory countered with megaphones, black-and-white protest banners and flags bearing snow lions, a symbol of Tibetan identity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

Earlier research showed that animals living on the Tibetan Plateau, which has an average elevation of 14,700 feet, carry a mutation in a gene known as Retsat.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

Far below, down a side of the mountain I had never laid eyes on, the dry Tibetan plateau stretched to the horizon as a boundless expanse of dun- colored earth.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer