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• African American
  African American

  noun

  an American with Black African ancestry.
• African-American
  African-American

  noun

  an American of African descent

African American

American  

[af-ri-kuhn uh-mer-i-kuhn] / ˈæf rɪ kən əˈmɛr ɪ kən /

Sometimes Aframerican

noun

1. an American with Black African ancestry.

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adjective

1. of or relating to African Americans.

2. African-American, occurring between the United States and Africa.

   Several international charities are promoting African-American cooperation in expanding access to safe drinking water.

African-American British  

noun

1. an American of African descent

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adjective

1. of or relating to Americans of African descent

Usage

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 Black ¹.

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

Etymology

Origin of African American

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

African American African-American

She called on Raman to retract her remarks and issue an apology, saying Gates “inflicted serious harm to the African American community.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Finally, on Sept. 8, Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch, the first African American person to lead the institution, announced he was stepping down at age 73, saying “it has been stressful.”

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

Rebecca completed her bachelor’s degree at Harvard College, where she studied philosophy and African American studies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

His career accomplishments include founding the National Museum of African American History and Culture and authoring numerous books, including one on the NMAAHC's creation.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

Back then the same people we now call African American or Black were called Colored or Negro.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

"His background is everything - European, African-American, Hispanic and indigenous as well," he says.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Apart from his political advocacy, Robinson pushed for African-American entrepreneurship, which he believed was necessary for true equality.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

“We’re doing very well with the Black jobs, African-American jobs,” he said.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

“House” was first heard in a short-lived 1942 revue titled “Let Freedom Sing” but was then performed by an African-American vocal group, the Delta Rhythm Boys.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

I grab the leaflet—it's from Shanti's church in Harlem—a big, African-American, Catholic church.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

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