resident

American  

[rez-i-duhnt] / ˈrɛz ɪ dənt /

noun

• residents
  plural

1. a person who resides in a place.

2. a physician who joins the medical staff of a hospital as a salaried employee for a specified period to gain advanced training usually in a particular field, being in full-time attendance at the hospital and often living on the premises.

3. a diplomatic representative, inferior in rank to an ambassador, residing at a foreign court.

4. (formerly) a representative of the British governor general at a court in India.

5. (formerly) the governor of a residency in the Dutch East Indies.

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adjective

1. residing; dwelling in a place.

2. living or staying at a place in discharge of duty.

3. (of qualities) existing; intrinsic.

4. (of birds) not migratory.

5. Computers.

   1. encoded and permanently available to a computer user, as a font in a printer's ROM or software on a CD-ROM.

   2. (of a computer program) currently active or standing by in computer memory.

resident British  

/ ˈrɛzɪdənt /

noun

1. a person who resides in a place

2. Former name: inmate. social welfare an occupant of a welfare agency home

3. (esp formerly) a representative of the British government in a British protectorate

4. (esp in the 17th century) a diplomatic representative ranking below an ambassador

5. (in India, formerly) a representative of the British governor general at the court of a native prince

6. a bird or other animal that does not migrate

7. a physician who lives in the hospital where he or she works while undergoing specialist training after completing his or her internship Compare house physician

8. a junior doctor, esp a house officer, who lives in the hospital in which he or she works

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adjective

1. living in a place; residing

2. living or staying at a place in order to discharge a duty, etc

3. (of qualities, characteristics, etc) existing or inherent (in)

4. (of birds and other animals) not in the habit of migrating

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• residentship
  noun
• pseudoresident
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• residents
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of resident

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Middle French, from Latin resident- (stem of residēns ), present participle of residēre “to reside”; see reside, -ent

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Explanation

A resident is someone who lives somewhere particular, or a doctor-in-training who takes care of the patients at a hospital under the supervision of other doctors. You are a resident of wherever you live — your house, town, planet. (Let's assume we're all residents of Earth.) It's where you were born or where you've lived for awhile. Doctors who have their medical licenses but need more training become residents of hospitals. Animals that don't migrate are residents, too. Although it's usually a noun, it can be an adjective, like in the horror movie no one wants to live in, "Resident Evil."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

resident residents

Peekachu, 23, Rain, 20, Orisis, 26, and Caspian, 27, were all transferred from Marineland, while longtime Shedd resident Beethoven, 34, also died after eight Marineland belugas were brought there over the summer.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

She convinced the resident to pay £20,000 for a car and £9,000 for a campervan, which she said was purchased so the pair could go on days outs.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

In Mogadishu, resident Muqtar Hussein said the situation in South West "illustrates the risks of proceeding with disputed elections without political consensus".

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

In 2020, Alfozan became a legal permanent resident in the U.S., and in 2022 joined the San Francisco-based logistics startup Nash, which connects businesses with third-party couriers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Harriet Blaine was one Washington resident who attended, going at least three times.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

The weather authority said fire danger would remain through much of the day Saturday, warning residents to be prepared for emergency evacuations.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Rather than using background actors, the film features real Puerto Rican residents, including a local activist and singer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Some Lea County residents set up a Facebook page within days of Google’s “We’re listening” site going live to organize opposition to a possible data center.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

It's still too risky for residents to return, if they even have a home intact.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

A few weeks after he was deported, another group of ghetto residents was rounded up and marched to the train depot.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

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Related Words

• citizen
• dweller
• inhabitant
• inmate
• local
• native
• resident
• tenant

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