noun
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the official language of Italy and one of the official languages of Switzerland: the native language of approximately 60 million people. It belongs to the Romance group of the Indo-European family, and there is a considerable diversity of dialects
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a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Italy, or a descendant of one
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See Italian vermouth
adjective
Pronunciation
The pronunciation of Italian with an initial sound (pronounced like the word eye ) and often with level stress on the first and second syllables: is heard primarily from uneducated speakers. This pronunciation is sometimes facetious or disparaging in purpose and is usually considered offensive.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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Italianesqueadjective
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anti-Italianadjective
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half-Italianadjective
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non-Italianadjective
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pro-Italianadjective
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pseudo-Italianadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Italian
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word Italiānus. See Italy, -an
Compare meaning
How does italian 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:
Italian investors have planted large orchards in a nearby village and have started to export back home.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
Baker meticulously traces these changes as they materialized in art, literature, and the ledgers and letters of Italian merchants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The chapters follow the restaurant’s improbable success, offering extraordinary anecdotes, such as how a Yugoslavian immigrant happened to open a red-booth, comfort-food Italian restaurant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Or, at least, love adjacent to a very good Italian deli.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
It sounds more like something you would order at an Italian restaurant than a skin disease.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
It was 1-1 after 90 minutes, before five goals were scored in extra time, with the Italians winning 4-3.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Older Italians will never forget Marco Tardelli sealing Italy’s triumph in 1982 with a wild goal celebration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
“Many Italians are pretending it’s not really happening.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
According to Thailand's tourism ministry, the country suffered a sharp drop in the number of Europeans arriving in April -- down 29 percent among Germans and 44 percent for Italians.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
By 1910, of the thirty thousand people dwelling in Boston’s North End, more than twenty-eight thousand were Italians.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
