Inuit
Americannoun
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a member of a group of Indigenous peoples inhabiting northernmost North America from northern Alaska to eastern Canada and Greenland.
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the language of the Inuit, a member of the Eskimo-Aleut family comprising a variety of dialects.
noun
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any of several Native peoples of N America or Greenland, as distinguished from those from Asia or the Aleutian Islands (who are still generally referred to as Eskimos); the preferred term for Eskimo in N America Compare Yupik
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the language of these peoples; Inuktitut
Sensitive Note
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Inuit
First recorded in 1755–65; from Inuit: literally, “people,” plural of inuk “person”
Compare meaning
How does inuit 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:
He wants Greenland to leave the Kingdom of Denmark and enter into a form of free-association agreement with the U.S. that protects it militarily and recognizes the rights of its Inuit people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Fieldwork and logistics were supported by multiple organizations in Nunavut, with permits granted by territorial authorities and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 24, 2026
Most of the roughly 56,000 citizens are Greenlandic Inuit, though all residents are considered citizens of Denmark.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026
But her exposure to the Arctic territory began decades ago, she said, when she would hear Greenlandic Inuit songs as a child through her grandmother's shortwave radio.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
All day, it had been a replay of that old First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Student Association debate.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
As a proportion of males between the ages of 18 and 60, this equates to an estimated 2% of Chukchi, 1.4% of Russian Inuits, 1.32% of Koryaks and 0.8% of Khanty.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026
He had brought smallpox with him, and the disease raced around the island, killing Inuits and Europeans alike.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 26, 2023
On April 6, 1909, American explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson and four Inuits became the first men to reach the North Pole.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 6, 2021
The Canadian government is discussing the repatriation of the skulls of five Labrador Inuits from the collection of the Musée de l’Homme in Paris.
From New York Times ● Nov. 25, 2014
The Inuits could not cross to the mainland, the ice was too rotten, and they remained in King William Land all summer.
From Schwatka's Search by Gilder, William H. (William Henry)
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.
