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Pima

American  
[pee-muh] / ˈpi mə /

noun

  • Pimas,
    plural
  • Pima
    plural
  1. a member of an Indigenous people of southern Arizona and northern Mexico.

  2. the Uto-Aztecan language of the Pima, closely related to Tohono O'odham.


adjective

  1. of or relating to the Pima or their language.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of Pima

First recorded in 1810–15; from Spanish (Mexico, southwestern United States), earlier Pimahitos, from 16th-century Pima (Spanish spelling) pimahaitu “nothing”

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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:

Pima County, Ariz., covers 9,000 square miles of largely open desert.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 2, 2026

The A&E network categorized “Desert Law,” the TV series about the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, as a modest success, a spokesman said.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 2, 2026

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department released the handwritten notes Friday, saying investigators believe the author’s distinctive language, grammar and phrasing could be recognized by someone who knows the writer.

From Salon Aug. 1, 2026

The Pima County Sheriff's Office say they cannot verify her death, and the investigation remains active.

From BBC Jul. 31, 2026

Pima squatted beside him with her own length of wire.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

They made Citizen Coolidge "Chief White Father"; the Pimas bestowed upon him the title of "The Bringer of Waters."

From Time Magazine Archive

And the Wild Horse itself is the product of a collaboration between the Sheraton and the Maricopas and Pimas.

From Time Magazine Archive

Says Barbara Howard, a researcher for the National Institutes of Health: "The Pimas may have more LDL receptors or else more efficient ones than most people."

From Time Magazine Archive

Scientists believe that what makes the Pimas different from the more vulnerable masses is not that their bodies produce less cholesterol, but rather that they are more efficient at removing it from the bloodstream.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Pimas, calling themselves Ohotama, are a portion of a family of Indians of the same name, comprising, besides themselves, the Opates, Eudevis, and Joves, occupying much of Southern Arizona, Sonora, and Sinaloa.

From Descriptive Catalogue of Photographs of North American Indians by W. H. Jackson

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