southerner

American  

[suhth-er-ner] / ˈsʌð ər nər /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of the south.

2. (initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of the southern U.S.

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Southerner British  

/ ˈsʌðənə /

noun

1. (sometimes not capital) a native or inhabitant of the south of any specified region, esp the South of England or the Southern states of the US

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Etymology

Origin of southerner

First recorded in 1820–30; southern + -er ¹

Example Sentences

A native southerner, Chelsey graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2014.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

He channels a southerner named Wade who raises horses and says, “You can always tell when a horse is being pumped full of testosterone — steroids doesn’t make the horse think any better.”

From New York Times • May 8, 2024

Yet he stood firm and loud in his defiance and the wind of multi-party change sweeping across Africa became a reality for President Biya, a southerner who had been in power since 1982.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2023

And Blanche, a southerner, had confidence a lot of women never achieve.

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2022

One southerner, named John Jones, came to get away from becoming part of an inheritance.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield