Inuit

Or In·nu·it

[in-oo-it, -yoo-]

noun

plural

Inuits ,

plural

Inuit .

1. a member of a group of Indigenous peoples inhabiting northernmost North America from northern Alaska to eastern Canada and Greenland.

2. the language of the Inuit, a member of the Eskimo-Aleut family comprising a variety of dialects.

Inuit

/ ˈɪnjuːɪt /

noun

1. 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

2. the language of these peoples; Inuktitut

Sensitive Note

See Eskimo, Indian.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Inuit¹

First recorded in 1755–65; from Inuit: literally, “people,” plural of inuk “person”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Inuit¹

from Inuktitut inuit the people, pl of inuk a man

Example Sentences

For generations, the Inuit did not have a written language.

Read more on Literature

Among the artefacts being returned is an Inuit kayak that had historically been used to hunt whales in Canada's far north, and a set of embroidered gloves that came from the Cree Nation.

Read more on BBC

Alaskan Malamutes take their name from an Inuit tribe that settled along the shores of Kotzebue Sound in north-western Alaska, according to the American Kennel Club.

Read more on BBC

The Nunalik, one of the few Western cargo vessels capable of operating in the Arctic, mainly transports goods to remote Canadian Inuit communities, which depend on outside supplies for nearly everything.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He plans on hiring Alaska Natives as support staff for his crew, likely because at the time it was assumed that all Inuit had expert arctic survival skills.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal