First recorded in 1625–35; Virgini(a) + -an
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the Virginian, a dimly lit dive bar with dollar bills plastered to the wall, bartender Joshua Roche was pouring beers Thursday for a rowdy group that included one active-duty and two retired Marines.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026
While putting herself through college, she discovered that a Virginian could legally sell up to six cars a year without a business license.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025
“We’re the Wall Street of the data centre industry,” says Ms Bolthouse, who is a director of local Virginian charity and campaign group Piedmont Environmental Council.
From BBC • Nov. 3, 2024
The former coach, a native West Virginian, is a longtime friend of retiring Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and endorsed him in his 2018 reelection.
From Slate • Feb. 19, 2024
Another Virginian, St. George Tucker, developed an even fuller version of the same scheme six years later.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
