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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  

[nay-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

We take full accountability for the weight of our harmful words, and we thank Columbia’s Native American Council, as well as other members of the community, for bringing this to our attention.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

It also would have directed state officials to seek agreements with Native American tribes to integrate their traditional knowledge into managing the land.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Early artistic attempts were largely derivative of European art; Native American and folk art weren’t taken seriously until recent decades, and decorative objects were deemed “industrial arts” for a long time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 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

Indeed, the master narrative led to such surprising conclusions about Native American societies before the arrival of Europeans that it stirred up an intellectual firestorm.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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

He owned or leased about 18,000 acres and put them all to work: as full-sized sets representing Old West towns, a Dutch village with a windmill, Swiss and Puritan and native American and fishing settlements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2025

The first would be the “Hollywood favourite shows tour de force range” choice, the second would be the “making history” choice - Gladstone would be the first ever native American acting win.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 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

The sabre-tooth cats, after flourishing for more than 30 million years, disappeared, and so did the giant ground sloths, the oversized lions, native American horses, native American camels, the giant rodents and the mammoths.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari