American

[ uh-mer-i-kuhn ]

adjective
  1. of or relating to the United States of America or its inhabitants: an American citizen.

  2. of or relating to North or South America; of the Western Hemisphere: the American continents.

  1. of or relating to the Indigenous peoples of North and South America.

noun
  1. a citizen of the United States of America.

  2. a native or inhabitant of North or South America.

  1. an Indigenous person of North or South America.

  2. a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, four driving wheels, and no rear truck.

Origin of American

1
First recorded in 1570–80; Americ(a) + -an

Other words from American

  • A·mer·i·can·ly, adverb
  • A·mer·i·can·ness, noun

Words Nearby American

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use American in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for American

American

/ (əˈmɛrɪkən) /


adjective
  1. of or relating to the United States of America, its inhabitants, or their form of English

  2. of or relating to the American continent

noun
  1. a native or citizen of the US

  2. a native or inhabitant of any country of North, Central, or South America

  1. the English language as spoken or written in the United States

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