Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Hawaiian

American  
[huh-wahy-uhn, -wah-yuhn] / həˈwaɪ ən, -ˈwɑ jən /

adjective

  1. of or relating to Hawaii or the Hawaiian Islands.


noun

  • Hawaiians
    plural
  1. a native or inhabitant of Hawaii or the Hawaiian Islands.

  2. the aboriginal language of Hawaii, a Polynesian language.

Hawaiian British  
/ həˈwaɪən /

adjective

  1. of or relating to Hawaii, its people, or their language

"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

noun

  1. a native or inhabitant of Hawaii, esp one descended from Melanesian or Tahitian immigrants

  2. a language of Hawaii belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian family

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of Hawaiian

First recorded in 1815–25; Hawaii + -an

Compare meaning

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

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:

Hunks of sourdough or Texas toast, torn cornbread muffins or classic white sandwich bread, Hawaiian rolls or challah: all solid choices.

From Salon Sep. 6, 2026

KAILUA, Hawaii—The seaside streets bear the unmistakable look of a Hawaiian beach town, an oasis of palm trees, swimsuits and surfboards.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 20, 2026

Historically, Asian American women, with the exception of Native Hawaiian women, have had lower breast cancer rates than non-Hispanic white women.

From Science Daily Aug. 19, 2026

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines canceled 54 inter-island flights and 11 trans-Pacific flights Saturday because of the storm.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 16, 2026

The rocks could hardly be called land, but we knew they were the beginning of the Hawaiian Islands and we knew that the Hawaiian Islands were a territory belonging to the United States.

From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz

The lack of stigma among the Hawaiians, we learn, is cause for colonial concern: Father Damien’s death becomes a local scandal, and provokes a moral panic among the American businessmen who had bought Hawaiian land.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 4, 2026

"They underscore why it is so important to move beyond treating Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders as a single population."

From Science Daily Aug. 19, 2026

He then urged his fellow Hawaiians to check in on their local communities and do what they can to support their neighbors.

From MarketWatch Mar. 30, 2026

Many Hawaiians have heeded official advice to leave coastal areas, after a powerful earthquake thousands of miles away near Russia prompted a tsunami warning in the US state and other parts of the Pacific.

From BBC Jul. 30, 2025

Instead of standard English, everyone spoke Hawaiian Pidgin, a language mash-up created by Hawaiians and early Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, and American immigrants.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

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

Start training