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West Indian

British  

adjective

  1. of or relating to the West Indies, its inhabitants, or their language or culture

  2. native to or derived from the West Indies

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a native or inhabitant of the West Indies

  2. a person of West Indian descent

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

Using West Indian to refer to people of this ancestry living in Britain may cause offence. Possible alternatives are Black and Afro-Caribbean

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.

In “Malcolm X,” Lindo squared off with Denzel Washington’s protagonist as a Harlem hustler named West Indian Archie.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

Nothing beats watching a West Indian when they get going.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

West Indian captain Shai Hope said his team were "ticking more boxes" after they won a reduced-overs third and final T20 international against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium on Saturday.

From Barron's • Jan. 31, 2026

McQueen gave that reality anthropological scope in “Small Axe,” the 2020 series about his West Indian community’s experiences in ’70s London.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2024

A dark, businessman- looking West Indian often would sit at one of my tables.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey