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

Playwright Erin Courtney, who first encountered Adams at Clubbed Thumb, is working with him, in conjunction with the National Asian American Theatre Company, on her new play “Begin, Again.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

"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

It premiered in early January as part of the first free, ad-supported streaming channel dedicated to highlighting Asian American voices across comedy, film, reality TV and sitcoms.

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