British
Americanadjective
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of or relating to Great Britain or its inhabitants.
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used especially by natives or inhabitants of Great Britain.
In this dictionary, “Brit.” is an abbreviation for “British usage.”
noun
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the people native to or inhabiting Great Britain.
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the Celtic language of the ancient Britons.
adjective
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relating to, denoting, or characteristic of Britain or any of the natives, citizens, or inhabitants of the United Kingdom
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relating to or denoting the English language as spoken and written in Britain, esp the S dialect generally regarded as standard See also Southern British English Received Pronunciation
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relating to or denoting the ancient Britons
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of or relating to the Commonwealth
British subjects
noun
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(functioning as plural) the natives or inhabitants of Britain
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the extinct Celtic language of the ancient Britons See also Brythonic
Usage
What does British mean? British is used as an adjective to describe something as coming from or being related to the island of Great Britain or the people who live there, as in We drove through the British countryside. British is also used as a noun to mean the people of Great Britain, usually as “the British.”Great Britain, often referred to as just Britain, is a large island located off the northwest coast of continental Europe. It is made up of England, Wales, and Scotland, which are part of the United Kingdom (UK). There is no country called Great Britain. The name is used only to refer to the physical island. However, the United Kingdom is often referred to as Great Britain or Britain, even though the UK also includes Northern Ireland. For this reason, the word British is often used to refer to things related to the island or the people who live there, as in The exciting tennis match was covered by the British media. In a related sense, British is used as a noun to refer to the people who live or have lived on the island of Great Britain, as in The movie was more popular with the British than it was with Americans. Example: The British people are proud of their island home.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of British
before 900; Middle English Brittische, Old English Bryttisc, equivalent to Brytt ( as ) Britons + -isc- -ish 1; see Briton
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.
A British couple have been found down a ravine, badly burned and semi-conscious, after being caught up in the deadly wildfires that tore through Spain's Almeria province, according to local media.
From BBC • Jul. 12, 2026
Genius Sports recently created a 3-D digital highlight of a British soccer player racing down the pitch and then magically crossing over into the streets of Hanoi, where he scored a goal.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 12, 2026
He will be confirmed as the new British number one and will rise to 36th in the world rankings on Monday, as well as taking home £900,000 in prize money.
From BBC • Jul. 12, 2026
Few British prime ministers besides Winston Churchill or Margaret Thatcher have wide public recognition in the United States.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 12, 2026
But, I reminded myself, the Sons of Liberty hadn’t chosen this disguise to be accurate, or even to be political; they’d chosen this disguise to identify themselves as being American—not British.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
