N-word

American  

[en-wurd] / ˈɛnˌwɜrd /

Also n word or n-word

noun

1. a euphemism for the word nigger .

   His use of the highly offensive N-word during a televised broadcast caused outrage.

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n-word British  

noun

1. offensive (sometimes capital) a euphemistic way of referring to the word nigger

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Usage

See nigger.

Etymology

Origin of N-word

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

They did not repeat the N-word while discussing the book in their classroom, she said.

From BBC

Efforts originating from the left, Meehan told me, often involve protests against white authors using the N-word.

From Los Angeles Times

Mark Twain’s 1894 masterpiece, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” is nothing if not a powerful indictment of the evils of slavery, despite its repeated use of the N-word.

From Los Angeles Times

Since 2021, the names of about 650 places and geographic features across the country have been renamed, with involvement by the same federal board that in earlier eras helped get rid of the N-word and a pejorative word for Japanese.

From Seattle Times

Marie said she heard nurses calling Black patients the n-word.

From Scientific American