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• Native American
  Native American

  noun

  Indian.
• native American
  native American

  noun

  a person born in the United States.

Native American

¹ American  

[ney-tiv uh-mer-i-kuhn] / ˈneɪ tɪv əˈmɛr ɪ kən /

noun

1. Indian.

2. a member of any of the aboriginal peoples of the Americas, including Indians and non-Indians.

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native American ² American  

noun

1. a person born in the United States.

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Native American British  

noun

1. A member of the indigenous peoples of North America

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Native Americans or any of their languages

Sensitive Note

See Indian, Eskimo.

Other Word Forms

• native-American
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of native American

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Native American native American

Several works involve Native American protests over land rights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

In the Native American literary community, Sarris has often felt excluded from discourse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

Native American tradition speaks of a type of shapeshifter known as a tolik, or human bear, who can cast lethal spells on their enemies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

The ordinance included language that excludes equestrian events, as well as American Indian, Native American, Indigenous Rodeo, Mexican Charreria and Escaramuza events that don’t involve the activities cited in the law.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

Indeed, the master narrative led to such surprising conclusions about Native American societies before the arrival of Europeans that it stirred up an intellectual firestorm.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

It is estimated the spread of non native American mink saw 90% of water voles wiped out since the 1970s.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

States receiving funds had to consult with unions, native American tribes and “local community organizations” on their plans to expand broadband.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

He owned or leased about 18,000 acres and put them all to work: as full-sized sets representing Old West towns, a Dutch village with a windmill, Swiss and Puritan and native American and fishing settlements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2025

Rather than lose the unique and native American tree and replace it with a newly created hybrid, they hope to cure the native species before it disappears.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2023

The sabre-tooth cats, after flourishing for more than 30 million years, disappeared, and so did the giant ground sloths, the oversized lions, native American horses, native American camels, the giant rodents and the mammoths.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari