American
/əˈmɛɹɪkən//əˈmɛɹɪkən/
American noun: a citizen or national of the United States of America. Also the clipping of American cheese.
Noun
American (countable and uncountable, plural Americans)
- A citizen or national of the United States of America.
- Americans! your republican politics, not less than your republican religion, are flagrantly inconsistent. You boast of your love of liberty, your superior civilization, and your pure Christianity, while the whole political power of the nation... is solemnly pledged to support and perpetuate the...1852 July 5, Frederick Douglass, speech to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society, Rochester, New York
- ...the British ruling class obviously could not admit to themselves that their usefulness was at an end. Had they done that they would have had to abdicate. For it was not possible for them to turn themselves into mere bandits, like the American millionaires, consciously clinging to unjust...1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. I
- Any inhabitant of the Americas.
- A citizen or inhabitant of British America.
- An indigenous inhabitant of the Americas.
- The Americans believe that all creatures have souls.1711, Joseph Addison, The Spectator, page 56
- Within a few months the ‘slave Alexandre’ had been successfully transformed into what, across the Channel, was called a ‘blackamoor dandy’. Parisians preferred the more politely euphemistic term ‘American’. ]2012, Jonathan Keates, “Mon Père, ce héros”, in Literary Review, section 402
- An inhabitant of French or Spanish New World colonies.
- In France, when I have announced myself as an American, I have been supposed to belong to one of the French colonies; in Spain, to be from Mexico, or Peru, or some other Spanish-American country.1839, Washington Irving, 'National Nomenclature', The Knickerbocker
- The dialect of English spoken in and around the contiguous United States of America.
- -A . Spanish ; my mother and father speak American ; my brothers and sisters speak Spanish ; when he is in the house , we speak American ; we have American prayers at night before we go to bed . Q. Is that usual in the families of the[…]1871, United States. Commission of Inquiry to Santo Domingo, Report, with the Introductory Message of the President, Special Reports Made to the Commission, State Papers Furnished by the Dominican...
- “Do you speak American,” then asked the lady.
“Oh, naow,” he replied with a still stronger emphasis.
“But wouldn't you like to learn American?" persisted the lady.
“Oh, naow, thanks," answered this sturdy little patriot. […]1896, The North American Review, volume 163, page 28
- A steam locomotive of the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement.
- A size of type smaller than German, 1-point type.
Adjective
American (comparative more American, superlative most American)
- Of, from, or pertaining to the United States of America, its people, or its culture.
- He married an American woman in order to get an American passport.
- Thanksgiving is an American tradition.
- Synonyms:
- Yank, USian, USAian, Usanian, Usonian, United Statian, US American, United Statesian
- Of, from, or pertaining to the Americas.
- This is pure American powder from the foothills of Colombia.
- Synonyms:
- Western Hemispherian
- Of, from, or pertaining to British North America.
- Of, from, or pertaining to the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas.
- Able to be exercised on any date between its issue and expiry.
- All of these trade on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Most of the contracts are European. An exception is the OEX contract on the S&P 100, which is American.2009, John C. Hull, Options, Futures, and other Derivatives (Seventh Edition), Pearson Education, page 182
- Multi-dimensional option pricing becomes an important topic in financial markets (Franker et al., 2008). Among which, the American-type derivative (e.g. the Bermudan option) pricing is a challenging problem.2009, Shih-Feng Huang, Meihui Guo, Applied Quantitative Finance (Second Edition), Springer, page 295
Proper noun
American
- A township in Allen County, Ohio, United States.
Also used as
American is also the clipping of American cheese.
American is also the ellipsis of American cockroach.
American meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
American in Hindi
- person born in, or a citizen of, the U.S. — see also U.S. American, Yankee
- अमेरिकन amerikan, अमरीकी amrīkī
- of or pertaining to the U.S., its people or its culture — see also U.S. American
- अमरीकी amrīkī
American in Tamil
- inhabitant of the Americas
- அமெரிக்கர் amerikkar
- person born in, or a citizen of, the U.S. — see also U.S. American, Yankee
- அமெரிக்கர் amerikkar, அமெரிக்கன் amerikkaṉ
- of or pertaining to the Americas
- அமெரிக்க amerikka
- of or pertaining to the U.S., its people or its culture — see also U.S. American
- அமெரிக்க amerikka
American in Urdu
- person born in, or a citizen of, the U.S. — see also U.S. American, Yankee
- امریکن amerikan, امریکی amrīkī
- of or pertaining to the U.S., its people or its culture — see also U.S. American
- امریکی amrīkī, امریکائی amrīkā'ī
American in Bengali
- person born in, or a citizen of, the U.S. — see also U.S. American, Yankee
- আমেরিকান amerikan, মার্কিন markin
- of or pertaining to the U.S., its people or its culture — see also U.S. American
- মার্কিন markin, মার্কিনী markini
More languagesFewer languages
- American in Pashto
- امريکايی amrikâyay, امريکايۍ amrikâyëy
- American in Tagalog
- Amerikahin, Amerikano
- American in Arabic
- أَمْرِيكِيّ ʔamrīkiyy, أَمْرِيكِيَّة ʔamrīkiyya, أَمْرِيكِيّv ʔamrīkiyy
- American in Malay
- orang Amerika, orang US, Amerika
- American in Indonesian
- orang Amerika
- American in Persian
- آمریکایی âmrikâyi
- American in Thai
- คนอเมริกัน, อเมริกัน à-mee-rí-gan, ชาวอเมริกัน chaao à-mee-rí-gan, อเมริกา à-mee-rí-gaa
- American in Vietnamese
- người Mỹ, người Hoa Kỳ, châu Mỹ, Mỹ châu
- American in Myanmar
- အမေရိကန် a.meri.kan
Examples of American in a sentence
- Americans! your republican politics, not less than your republican religion, are flagrantly inconsistent.1852 July 5, Frederick Douglass, speech to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society, Rochester, New York
- My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever.1984 Aug. 11, Ronald Reagan, soundcheck for a weekly address
- The fact that they speak American and don ' t wear German uniforms makes them more dangerous than the Jerries themselves .1945, Clarence I. Chatto, Alice L. Halligan, The Story of the Springfield Plan:
- We sat down in the central square and drank coffee and a man came up and spoke to us in American.1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Canongate, published 2006, page 756:
Synonyms of American
9 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of American
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | Americans |
| alternative form | Am. |
| alternative form | Amer. |
| alternative form | Americanian |
| alternative form | Murican |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more American |
| superlative | most American |
Origin of American
From America + -n. Compare New Latin amerī̆canus.
Words formed from American
- AACD
- AAPI
- ABA
- Aboriginal American
- AFL
- Afra-American
- African American
- African-American English
- Afrimerican
- Afro-American
- Afromerican
- all-American
- all-Americanness
- AMA
- Amerasian
- Amerenglish
- Americana
- American Airlines
- American alligator
- American aloe
- American Alsatian
- American arrowroot
- American as apple pie
- American ash
- American aspen
- American avocet
- American badger
- American basswood
- American Beauty
- American beaver
- American beech
- American bird grasshopper
- American bison
- American bittern
- American bittersweet
- American black bear
- American black duck
- American Black English
- American black plum
- American black vulture
- American bluehearts
- American Bobtail
- American breakfast
- American brook charr
- American buffalo
- American Bulldog
- American bullfrog
- American bully
- American calumba
- American Canyon
- American centaury
- American Century
- American chaffseed
- American chameleon
- American cheese
- American cheetah
- American chestnut
- American chop suey
- American civil religion
- American Civil War
Phrases with American
- US American
- American elm
- American ivy
- American jay
- American pie
- American War
- American way
- American yew
- I'm American
- New American
- American coot
- American Curl
161 more phrasesFewer phrases
- American elms
- American Fork
- American grip
- American jays
- American lion
- American mink
- American plan
- American plum
- American rhea
- American shad
- American shot
- American sole
- American teal
- American yews
- U.S. American
- Ugly American
- American aloes
- American cloth
- American cobra
- American coots
- American Curls
- American darts
- American Dingo
- American Dream
- American eagle
- American Falls
- American forge
- American gauge
- American holly
- American Keuda
- American lions
- American lotus
- American minks
- American perch
- American pipit
- American plums
- American Pygmy
- American rheas
- American River
- American robin
- American round
- American Samoa
- American senna
- American shads
- American shots
- American snout
- American soles
- American South
- American teals
- American tiger
- American vetch
- Asian American
- Irish American
- Latin American
- North American
- South American
- American aspens
- American bisons
- American cobras
- American darter
- American Dingos
- American dipper
- American dollar
- American eagles
- American Empire
- American forges
- American Indian
- American Keudas
- American laurel
- American League
- American marten
- American muffin
- American option
- American pipits
- American robins
- American rounds
- American Samoan
- American snouts
- American tigers
- American Turtle
- American wigeon
- Middle American
- Native American
- orange American
- American badgers
- American beavers
- American beeches
- American bullies
- American cheeses
- American columbo
- American cowslip
- American darters
- American diamond
- American dippers
- American dollars
- American doubles
- American dun-bar
- American English
- American ginseng
- American goulash
- American handegg
- American hollies
- American hot dog
- American Indians
- American kestrel
- American laurels
- American lobster
- American lotuses
- American muffins
- American options
- American ostrich
- American pancake
- American perches
- American Samoans
- American Spanish
- American studies
- American Turtles
- American warbler
- American widgeon
- American wigeons
- Central American
- General American
- Hiberno American
- Mexican American
- Pacific American
- Spanish American
- American Beauties
- American bitterns
- American Bobtails
- American buffalos
- American Bulldogs
- American cowslips
- American diamonds
- American dun-bars
- American feverfew
- American flamingo
- American football
- American Foxhound
- American ginsengs
- American hand-egg
- American handeggs
- American hornbeam
- American hot dogs
- American kestrels
- American lobsters
- American longhair
- American pale ale
- American pancakes
- American pokeweed
- American pondweed
- American redstart
- American Ringtail
- American sweetgum
- American sycamore
- American warblers
- American widgeons
- American Wirehair
- American woodcock
- heritage American
- Hispanic American
- Standard American
Questions about American
- What does American mean?
- American means a citizen or national of the United States of America.
- What is American in Hindi?
- American in Hindi is अमेरिकन (amerikan), अमरीकी (amrīkī). See American meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use American in a sentence?
- Americans! your republican politics, not less than your republican religion, are flagrantly inconsistent.
- What part of speech is American?
- American can be a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce American?
- American is pronounced /əˈmɛɹɪkən/ (UK).
- What is the plural of American?
- The plural of American is Americans.
Words near American in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: American (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-American.ogg, LL-Q7976 (mis)-BFDICream-American.wav.
Cite this entry: “American.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/american. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.