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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

• native-American
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of native American

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Native American native American

Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith has been accused of taking part in a scheme that allegedly scammed $2.5 million from a Native American investment firm.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

That population balance helps explain why most of the more than 7,000 artifacts recovered from the site since 2006 are fragments of Native American pottery.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

Patterson wanted to center the film around a Native American woman who stops at nothing, he told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Though rare in much of the upper South, Native American influence is common in the Midwest and coastal New England.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The walls were woven from plant material, like a Native American hut, but they looked pretty waterproof.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

States receiving funds had to consult with unions, native American tribes and “local community organizations” on their plans to expand broadband.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

Their names originate from native American culture to reflect what was happening in nature and as a method of using the lunar phase for timekeeping.

From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2024

Rather than lose the unique and native American tree and replace it with a newly created hybrid, they hope to cure the native species before it disappears.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2023

Although the variant was established in Asia as a result of interbreeding between Denisovans and sapiens, it also spread to European and native American populations.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2023

Ancient music, such as Gregorian chants; new music, such as some experimental twentieth-century art music; and Non-Western music, such as some native American flute music, may not have a strong, repetitive pattern of beats.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones