desi
Britishadjective
-
indigenous or local
a desi buda
-
authentic
desi music
Etymology
Origin of desi
C21: Hindi, from Sanskrit deśa a country
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.
"So, the desi pub became an extension of their living room."
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2025
The diaspora has much to consider in this desi power broker’s rapid ascent in British politics—helped, in part, by years of turmoil on Downing Street and within the Tories’ ranks.
From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2022
“Anyone who is desi knows this woman very well,” she said, using a shorthand term for South Asians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2022
I would listen to Akshiti’s popular millennial Bollywood playlist while cooking and cry along with desi sad boi hours while I showered.
From The Verge ● Aug. 8, 2022
When I was walking out to the Mess the other night, I overheard two girls, probably from seventh or eighth grade, from Block 3—another desi block.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
