American

American  

[uh-mer-i-kuhn] / əˈmɛr ɪ kən /

adjective

1. of or relating to the United States of America or its inhabitants.

   an American citizen.

2. of or relating to North or South America; of the Western Hemisphere.

   the American continents.

3. of or relating to the Indigenous peoples of North and South America.

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noun

1. a citizen of the United States of America.

2. a native or inhabitant of North or South America.

3. an Indigenous person of North or South America.

4. American English.

5. a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, four driving wheels, and no rear truck.

American British  

/ əˈmɛrɪkən /

adjective

1. of or relating to the United States of America, its inhabitants, or their form of English

2. of or relating to the American continent

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noun

1. a native or citizen of the US

2. a native or inhabitant of any country of North, Central, or South America

3. the English language as spoken or written in the United States

Other Word Forms

• Americanly adverb
• Americanness noun

Etymology

Origin of American

First recorded in 1570–80; Americ(a) + -an

Example Sentences

“The big systems need to be fixed, and he is doing that,” John Ferrari, a retired Army major general and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said of Feinberg.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

The American economy has been “surprisingly resilient,” he said, as have consumers.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

The Korean wolf, as described in an American newspaper in 1916, sports "piercing eyes" and "wonderful agility".

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

The vast majority of day traders lose most or all of their money, warned Marni Rock Gibson, a Kentucky regulator who is the president of the North American Securities Administrators Association.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

Crew members of the USS Advance draped the ship’s tattered American flag over his coffin.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock