noun
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the official language of Italy and one of the official languages of Switzerland: the native language of approximately 60 million people. It belongs to the Romance group of the Indo-European family, and there is a considerable diversity of dialects
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a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Italy, or a descendant of one
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See Italian vermouth
adjective
Pronunciation
The pronunciation of Italian with an initial sound (pronounced like the word eye ) and often with level stress on the first and second syllables: is heard primarily from uneducated speakers. This pronunciation is sometimes facetious or disparaging in purpose and is usually considered offensive.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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Italianesqueadjective
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anti-Italianadjective
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half-Italianadjective
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non-Italianadjective
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pro-Italianadjective
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pseudo-Italianadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Italian
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word Italiānus. See Italy, -an
Compare meaning
How does italian compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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:
She just makes very beautiful traditional but artistically done Italian food.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
The former world number 44 ruthlessly brushed aside Italian 15th seed Paolini in a 6-2 6-0 victory, further validating Kartal's patient approach to recovering from the first serious injury of her career.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
The European Central Bank has authorized the takeover of Germany's Commerzbank AG by UniCredit, the Italian bank said Thursday, calling it an "important milestone" that underscored confidence in its bid.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
The bedroom also overlooks the backyard, while the adjoining bathroom features Italian blue glass tile, giving the space a spa-inspired appearance.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
A hundred feet away, a familiar-looking baby-blue Italian car had crashed headfirst into the sand.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Like many immigrant communities, such as Irish and Italians in the early 20th century, the second generation is doing much better economically than their parents.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
Italians have come together in recent years to reject violence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
During the Renaissance, Italians refined fencing into its modern form, and soon fencing schools began popping up all over Europe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Italians Errani and Vavassori - the only doubles specialist pairing invited to compete last year - last year issued a joint statement criticising the "profoundly wrong" move.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
There were people speaking languages other than English: next to us was a tour group of Italians; across the way was a group of Germans.
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
