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• Native American
  Native American

  noun

  Indian.
• native American
  native American

  noun

  a person born in the United States.

Native American

¹ American  

[ney-tiv uh-mer-i-kuhn] / ˈneɪ tɪv əˈmɛr ɪ kən /

noun

1. Indian.

2. a member of any of the aboriginal peoples of the Americas, including Indians and non-Indians.

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native American ² American  

noun

1. a person born in the United States.

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Native American British  

noun

1. A member of the indigenous peoples of North America

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Native Americans or any of their languages

Sensitive Note

See Indian, Eskimo.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• native-American
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of native American

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Example Sentences

The findings may also prove valuable for Native American tribes located within or near the park.

From Science Daily • Jun. 2, 2026

A song clip from Native American author and poet John Trudell.

From Salon • May 12, 2026

Those animals were the progenitors of the vast Native American pony herds of later centuries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

Mr. Stark, the author of several books about the American frontier, smoothly alternates between Spanish and Native American perspectives as he brings to life his cast of characters along with their aspirations and conflicts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

Against that grim list, the sole crowd infectious diseases that can be attributed with certainty to pre-Columbian Native American societies were nonsyphilitic treponemas.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond