African American

[ af-ri-kuhnuh-mer-i-kuhn ]

/ ˈæf rɪ kən əˈmɛr ɪ kən /

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noun

an American with Black African ancestry.

adjective

of or relating to African Americans.

Af·ri·can-A·mer·i·can, occurring between the United States and Africa: Several international charities are promoting African-American cooperation in expanding access to safe drinking water.See Grammar note at Spanish American.

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Sometimes Afro-American, Af·ra·mer·i·can

[af-ruh-mer-i-kuhn] /ˌæf rəˈmɛr ɪ kən/ .

Origin of African American

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

usage note for African American

During the 1980s, many Americans sought to display pride in their immigrant origins. Linguistically, this brought about a brief period of short-form hyphenated designations, like Italo-Americans and Greco-Americans. The Black community also embraced the existing term Afro-American, a label that emphasized geographical or ethnic heritage over skin color. The related label, African American, also saw an increase in use among activists in the 1970s and 1980s. African American was even more widely adopted in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s after high-profile Black leaders advocated for it, arguing, as Jesse Jackson did, that the term brought “proper historical context” and had “cultural integrity.” See Black¹.

historical usage of African American

See urban.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use African American in a sentence

Paperback publishers distributed their titles in African-American neighborhoods because it expanded their market base.
How Pulp Fiction Saved Literature|Wendy Smith|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Ed Brooke, the first African-American Senator since Reconstruction, embraced fights with the left and right.
Ed Brooke: The Senate's Civil Rights Pioneer and Prophet of a Post-Racial America|John Avlon|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Still, for all of this, South Carolina is now represented in the U.S. Senate by Tim Scott, a Republican and an African-American.
Steve Scalise Shows There’s a Fine Line Between Confederate & Southern|Lloyd Green|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Artists like Mick Jagger and Van Morrison obsessively revered and imitated African-American blues and rock musicians.
The Cultural Crimes of Iggy Azalea|Amy Zimmerman|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

You mix up English working-class gruffness with African-American soul from the Deep South.
The Greatest Rock Voice of All Time Belonged to Joe Cocker|Ted Gioia|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
African American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs.
State of the Union Addresses of George W. Bush|George W. Bush

British Dictionary definitions for African American

African-American

noun

an American of African descent

adjective

of or relating to Americans of African descent

usage for African-American

This is the currently preferred term in the US for people of African ancestry

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