Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Americana

American  
[uh-mer-i-kan-uh, -kah-nuh, -key-nuh] / əˌmɛr ɪˈkæn ə, -ˈkɑ nə, -ˈkeɪ nə /

noun

  1. (often used with a plural verb) books, papers, maps, etc., relating to America, especially to its history, culture, and geography.

  2. (used with a singular verb) a collection of such materials.


Americana British  
/ əˌmɛrɪˈkɑːnə /

plural noun

  1. objects, such as books, documents, relics, etc, relating to America, esp in the form of a collection

  2. all forms of traditional music indigenous to America, and their modern variants

"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

Etymology

Origin of Americana

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; Americ(a) + -ana

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.

See Examples For:

The grill leans into comfort foods and Americana with crab cakes, spinach artichoke dip, a Lucas-favorite chopped salad, jumbo-prawn cocktails, mac and cheese, and pigs in a blanket.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 17, 2026

Parton lived her entire adult life in the heart of Americana, folk and country music.

From Barron's Aug. 25, 2026

Though the Womacks come from a line of West Virginian horse breeders, there was nothing Americana about the childhoods of BG, Zeimani and Kucha.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 17, 2026

The mostly instrumental “Panorama” swirls banjo, mandolin, strings and horns with droning electronics, landing on a kind of spaced-out Americana.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 11, 2026

If we let Didu splash around for a while in the deep end of Americana, she'll figure out that it's not as great as it looks.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training