ethnicity

American  

[eth-nis-i-tee] / ɛθˈnɪs ɪ ti /

noun

• ethnicities
  plural

1. an ethnic group; a social group that shares a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, or the like.

   Representatives of several ethnicities were present.

2. ethnic traits, background, allegiance, or association.

   The graph shows class enrollment by gender and ethnicity.

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ethnicity Cultural  

1. Identity with or membership in a particular racial, national, or cultural group and observance of that group's customs, beliefs, and language.

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Usage

race ²

Discover More

Many minority groups in the United States maintain strong ethnic identity; especially in cities, immigrants are often attracted to ethnic communities established by people from their own country, communities in which many traditional cultural features are maintained. (See melting pot.)

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ethnicities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ethnicity

First recorded in 1765–75, for earlier sense; ethnic + -ity

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Explanation

A person's ethnicity is their ethnic traits, classification, or association. If your ethnicity is Italian, you might speak Italian in the home and eat Italian food. Or you might simply refer to yourself as Italian and identify with your ethnicity in no other way. Usually, ethnicity is a collective noun, but in the singular, an ethnicity is a particular ethnic group. The adjective ethnic relates to large groups of people who have certain racial, cultural, religious, or other traits in common. In Middle English, ethnic meant heathen or pagan. The word is from Late Latin ethnicus, from Greek ethnikos "foreign," from ethnos "nation."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ethnicity ethnicities

Most of the victims were from foreign backgrounds and prosecutors are investigating whether the acts targeted the "real or supposed race, ethnicity, nationality or religion" of the victims.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

The national antiterrorism prosecutor’s office said it is investigating whether the shootings were targeting a specific race, ethnicity, origin or religion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

An unidentified man whose body was discovered in a reservoir in mid Wales two years ago may not have been of white ethnicity as previously thought, an inquest heard.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Higher levels of education, Hispanic ethnicity and Tricare-paid births were associated with fewer deaths.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

In that category where you choose the ethnicity you are interested in?

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Newsom last year signed a similar bill that created a category for Middle East and North African individuals separate from the “white” designation that had previously encompassed those ethnicities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

I was surrounded by kids of all ethnicities at school, from Black to white to Persian to Vietnamese.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

The Communist Party says it embraces different ethnicities.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026

The 44-year-old is deeply engrained in United's culture and has no doubts about the integrity of the club's efforts to be welcoming to people of all ethnicities.

From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026

And, most years, that bishop was Irish, a circumstance that met with the general approval of all ethnicities.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

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