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mainlander

American  
[meyn-lan-der, -luhn-der] / ˈmeɪnˌlæn dər, -lən dər /

noun

  1. a person who lives on a mainland.

  2. (in Hawaii) a person who lives in the continental U.S.


Etymology

Origin of mainlander

First recorded in 1855–60; mainland + -er 1

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:

I visit often enough to feel a sense of stewardship, yet my mainlander status keeps the islands just unfamiliar enough to never lose their getaway feeling.

From Seattle Times Feb. 3, 2023

A Taiwanese woman shared her experience working in Shanghai, trying to fit in while maintaining her identity and dealing with not being understood by her mainlander colleagues.

From Slate Feb. 9, 2021

Mary, 31, a mainlander working for a Hong Kong newspaper, said she stays up until 3 or 4 a.m. explaining Hong Kong protests to her Weibo followers.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 8, 2019

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we haven’t seen a mainlander have a successful run in Hawaii like Justin Thomas since Magnum, P.I.

From Golf Digest Jan. 17, 2017

Coupled with a toothy grin, the driver's gesture reveals a touch of mainlander frustration but is tempered with a protective dose of islander fatalism.

From Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Williams, Sam

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