Jamaican

American

[juh-mey-kuhn] / dʒəˈmeɪ kən /

adjective

of or relating to the island of Jamaica or its inhabitants.

noun

a native or inhabitant of Jamaica.

Etymology

Origin of Jamaican

First recorded in 1685–95; Jamaic(a) + -an

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.

Born to Jamaican parents in Mitcham, south London, in 1965, Ricky Walters was blinded in one eye by broken glass as an infant and took to wearing an eye patch.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

The Jamaican side have been forced to call up a number of academy players for the fixture.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

Born in London to Jamaican parents, Lindo moved to San Francisco as a teen to train at the American Conservatory Theater.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

He is one of its greatest cultural coalitionists, fusing Pan-American sounds — hip-hop, Jamaican reggae, Haitian kompa, gospel, salsa, folk — into music that is party-ready and politically alert.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

They even got a spot that sells TVs, Jamaican flags, leather jackets, and incense all in the same place.

From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023