American

American  

[uh-mer-i-kuhn] / əˈmɛr ɪ kən /

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.

3. 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.

3. an Indigenous person of North or South America.

4. American English.

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

American British  

/ 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

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

Other Word Forms

• Americanly adverb
• Americanness noun

Etymology

Origin of American

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

Example Sentences

The Godzilla movies, whether American or Japanese, are metaphors for the ravages of warmongering and the despondence of those powerless to escape its wrath.

From Salon

During World War I and World War II, Americans on the home front made huge sacrifices to support the war effort.

From MarketWatch

When two American aid workers in Liberia contracted Ebola, bringing them home required a risky airborne rescue.

From The Wall Street Journal

The author also reveals the desperate conditions that beset Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, and the two Americans who were driven by their religious faith to serve the same missionary hospital.

From The Wall Street Journal

The editorial cites an assertion by American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Roger Pielke Jr. that parts of the chapter were ghost written by our colleague Michael Burger.

From The Wall Street Journal