American

/əˈmɛrəkən/
/əˈmɛrɪkən/
IPA guide

Other forms: Americans; Americanly

Anything (or anyone) that comes from the United States is American. The American people hold a presidential election every four years.

While it's also correct to use this adjective for the two American continents, North and South America, it's more commonly used in connection with the U.S. If you're a national, citizen, or permanent resident of the United States, you're an American, and if your ancestors were indigenous, you're a Native American. American culture is especially tricky to define, since the country is made up of fifty states and covers almost four million square miles.

Definitions of American
  1. adjective
    of or relating to the United States of America or its people or language or culture
    “American citizens”
    “American English”
    “the American dream”
  2. adjective
    of or relating to or characteristic of the continents and islands of the Americas
    “the American hemisphere”
    “American flora and fauna”
  3. noun
    a native or inhabitant of the United States
    see moresee less
    types:
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    African American, African-American, Afro-American, Black American
    an American whose ancestors were born in Africa
    Asian American
    an American who is of Asian descent
    Creole
    a person descended from French ancestors in southern United States (especially Louisiana)
    Anglo-American
    an American who was born in Britain or one whose ancestors were British
    Alabaman, Alabamian
    a native or resident of Alabama
    Alaskan
    a native or resident of Alaska
    Arizonan, Arizonian
    a native or resident of Arizona
    Arkansan, Arkansawyer
    a native or resident of Arkansas
    Bay Stater
    a native or resident of Massachusetts
    Bostonian
    a native or resident of Boston
    Californian
    a native or resident of California
    Carolinian
    a native or resident of the Carolinas
    Coloradan
    a native or resident of Colorado
    Connecticuter
    a native or resident of Connecticut
    Delawarean, Delawarian
    a native or resident of Delaware
    Floridian
    a native or resident of Florida
    Franco-American
    an American who was born in France or whose ancestors were French
    German American
    an American who was born in Germany or whose ancestors were German
    Georgian
    a native or resident of the American state of Georgia
    Hawaiian
    a native or resident of Hawaii
    Idahoan
    a native or resident of Idaho
    Illinoisan
    a native or resident of Illinois
    Hoosier, Indianan
    a native or resident of Indiana
    Iowan
    a native or resident of Iowa
    Kansan
    a native or resident of Kansas
    Bluegrass Stater, Kentuckian
    a native or resident of Kentucky
    Louisianan, Louisianian
    a native or resident of Louisiana
    Down Easter, Mainer
    a native or resident of Maine
    Marylander
    a native or resident of Maryland
    Michigander, Wolverine
    a native or resident of Michigan
    Gopher, Minnesotan
    a native or resident of Minnesota
    Mississippian
    a native or resident of Mississippi
    Missourian
    a native or resident of Missouri
    Montanan
    a native or resident of Montana
    Cornhusker, Nebraskan
    a native or resident of Nebraska
    Nevadan
    a native or resident of Nevada
    Granite Stater, New Hampshirite
    a native or resident of New Hampshire
    Garden Stater, New Jerseyan, New Jerseyite
    a native of resident of New Jersey
    New Mexican
    a native or resident of New Mexico
    New Yorker
    a native or resident of New York (especially of New York City)
    North Carolinian, Tarheel
    a native or resident of North Carolina
    North Dakotan
    a native or resident of North Dakota
    Buckeye, Ohioan
    a native or resident of Ohio
    Oklahoman, Sooner
    a native or resident of Oklahoma
    Beaver, Oregonian
    a native or resident of Oregon
    Keystone Stater, Pennsylvanian
    a native or resident of Pennsylvania
    Rhode Islander
    a native or resident of Rhode Island
    South Carolinian
    a native or resident of South Carolina
    South Dakotan
    a native or resident of South Dakota
    Tennessean, Volunteer
    a native or resident of Tennessee
    Texan
    a native or resident of Texas
    Utahan
    a native or resident of Utah
    Vermonter
    a native or resident of Vermont
    Virginian
    a native or resident of Virginia
    Washingtonian
    a native or resident of the state of Washington
    Washingtonian
    a native or resident of the city of Washington
    West Virginian
    a native or resident of West Virginia
    Badger, Wisconsinite
    a native or resident of Wisconsin
    Wyomingite
    a native or resident of Wyoming
    Puerto Rican
    a native or resident of Puerto Rico
    Yank, Yankee, Yankee-Doodle
    an American (especially to non-Americans)
    Appalachian
    a native or inhabitant of Appalachia
    New Englander, Yankee
    an American who lives in New England
    Nisei
    a person born in the United States of parents who emigrated from Japan
    Southerner
    an American who lives in the South
    Hispanic, Hispanic American, Spanish American
    an American whose first language is Spanish
    Tory
    an American who favored the British side during the American Revolution
    Northerner, Yank, Yankee
    an American who lives in the North (especially during the American Civil War)
    Alaska Native, Alaskan Native, Native Alaskan
    a member or descendant of any of the aboriginal peoples of Alaska
    Native Hawaiian
    a member or descendant of the indigenous Polynesian people who lived in the Hawaiian Islands
    Confederate
    a supporter of the Confederate States of America
    criollo
    a Spanish American of pure European stock (usually Spanish)
    East-sider
    a resident of the east side of Manhattan in New York City
    good ol' boy, good old boy, good ole boy
    a white male Southerner with an unpretentious convivial manner and conservative or intolerant attitudes and a strong sense of fellowship with and loyalty to other members of his peer group
    Federal, Federal soldier, Union soldier
    a member of the Union Army during the American Civil War
    West-sider
    a resident of the west side of Manhattan in New York City
    type of:
    denizen, dweller, habitant, indweller, inhabitant
    a person who inhabits a particular place
  4. noun
    a native or inhabitant of a North American or Central American or South American country
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    types:
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    Creole
    a person of European descent born in the West Indies or Latin America
    Latin American, Latino
    a native of Latin America
    North American
    a native or inhabitant of North America
    South American
    a native or inhabitant of South America
    Mesoamerican
    a member of one of the various peoples inhabiting Mesoamerica
    West Indian
    a native or inhabitant of the West Indies
    Anguillan
    a native or inhabitant of the island of Anguilla in the West Indies
    Antiguan
    a native or inhabitant of Antigua
    Argentinian
    a native or inhabitant of Argentina
    Bahamian
    a native or inhabitant of the Bahamas
    Barbadian
    a native or inhabitant of Barbados
    Bermudan, Bermudian
    a native or inhabitant of Bermuda
    Bolivian
    a native or inhabitant of Bolivia
    Brazilian
    a native or inhabitant of Brazil
    Canadian
    a native or inhabitant of Canada
    Central American
    a native or inhabitant of Central America
    Chilean
    a native or inhabitant of Chile
    Colombian
    a native or inhabitant of Colombia
    Cuban
    a native or inhabitant of Cuba
    Ecuadoran, Ecuadorian
    a native or inhabitant of Ecuador
    Salvadoran, Salvadorean, Salvadorian
    a native or inhabitant of El Salvador
    Guyanese
    a native or inhabitant of Guyana
    Haitian
    a native or inhabitant of Haiti
    Jamaican
    a native or inhabitant of Jamaica
    Montserratian
    a native or inhabitant of Montserrat
    Paraguayan
    a native or inhabitant of Paraguay
    Peruvian
    a native or inhabitant of Peru
    Uruguayan
    a native or inhabitant of Uruguay
    Venezuelan
    a native or inhabitant of Venezuela
    Grenadian
    a native or inhabitant of Grenada
    Dominican
    a native or inhabitant of the Dominican Republic
    Tobagonian
    a native or inhabitant of the island of Tobago in the West Indies
    transmigrante
    a Latin American who buys used goods in the United States and takes them to Latin America to sell
    type of:
    denizen, dweller, habitant, indweller, inhabitant
    a person who inhabits a particular place
  5. noun
    the English language as used in the United States
    synonyms: American English, American language
    see moresee less
    types:
    AAVE, African American English, African American Vernacular English, Black English, Black English Vernacular, Black Vernacular, Black Vernacular English, Ebonics
    a nonstandard form of American English characteristically spoken by African Americans in the United States
    type of:
    English, English language
    an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
Pronunciation
US
/əˈmɛrəkən/
UK
/əˈmɛrɪkən/
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