Tamil
Americannoun
plural
Tamils,plural
Tamil-
a member of a Dravidian people of southern India and Sri Lanka.
-
the Dravidian language of the Tamils, spoken in India principally in Tamil Nadu state and in Sri Lanka on the northern and eastern coasts.
adjective
noun
-
a member of a mixed Dravidian and Caucasoid people of S India and Sri Lanka
-
the language of this people: the state language of Tamil Nadu, also spoken in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, belonging to the Dravidian family of languages
adjective
Usage
What does Tamil mean? Tamil is the name for a person of a Dravidian culture group that is located primarily in Southern India and northeastern Sri Lanka.Tamil is also the name of the language spoken by Tamils.Tamils, like all Dravidian peoples, are aboriginal to Southern India and Sri Lanka. That is, Dravidian peoples are the earliest known inhabitants of that geographic area.Today, most of the world’s Tamils live in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and northern part of the country of Sri Lanka, although many Tamils live around the world.
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.
Young workers move from poorer states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to more prosperous but ageing regions like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, chasing opportunity where it exists.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
South Korean conglomerate HD Hyundai plans to dramatically increase India’s domestic ship building capacity with a port expansion and greenfield port development in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India’s hub for export-oriented automotive industries.
From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026
Accolades have followed her, with national award-winning Tamil actor Dhanush calling it a "world-class performance".
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026
At the Tata conglomerate factory in Tirunelveli, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, 4,000 mostly women employees also work non-stop shifts.
From Barron's • Jan. 25, 2026
"This one is a Tamil store!" one of them shouts.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
