Asian American

American  

[ey-zhuhn-uh-mer-i-kuhn, ey-shuhn-] / ˌeɪ ʒən əˈmɛr ɪ kən, ˈeɪ ʃən- /

noun

1. a citizen or resident of the U.S. of Asian birth or descent.

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adjective

1. of or relating to Asian Americans or their culture.

2. Asian-American, occurring between the United States and Asia.

   Protectionist tariffs negatively affected the volume of Asian-American trade.

Etymology

Origin of Asian American

First recorded in 1965–70

Compare meaning

How does asian-american compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Asian American vs. Asian

Example Sentences

"Just seeing an Asian American, her struggle with her family and expectation, there's a lot of identifiers there that we take with us," Christine says.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026

Chinamaxxing has been a hot topic in Armond Dai’s group chats with Asian American friends.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

Meanwhile, 31% of Hispanic and Asian American voters, 21% of Black voters and 8% of white voters said they are specifically worried about being questioned by ICE agents at the polls.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026

His goal is to broaden the concept of Asian American culture through storytelling that would display what the U.S. has to offer while staying rooted in Asia.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026

On the table next to the futon was a framed photo of a young Black woman and an Asian American girl, posing in front of an enormous tree.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz