American Indian

noun

plural American Indians

: a member of any of the Indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere except often certain peoples (such as the Yupik and Inuit) who live in arctic regions

especially : an American Indian of North America and especially the U.S. compare native american

American Indian adjective

Examples of American Indian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Children who are uninsured or underinsured, Medicaid-eligible or of American Indian or Alaska Native descent can receive the vaccine for free through the CDC's Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program. —Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025

Spectacular color, mystical chants and rhythmic dances fill the Native American Indian Association of Tennessee’s annual powwow each year for three days in October. —Andy Humbles, Nashville Tennessean, 17 Oct. 2025

The remote villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, located near the Bering Sea, are home to about 1,000 residents—nearly all identifying as Alaska Native or American Indian. —Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025

The National Museum of the American Indian recalls how Indigenous peoples suffered theft, loss of their homelands, enslavement, death, forced displacement and disrupted cultural traditions due to European settlement. —Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 12 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for American Indian

• amerindian

Kids Definition

American Indian

noun

: a member of any of the Indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere except often certain peoples (as the Yupik and Inuit) who live in arctic regions

especially : an American Indian of North America and especially the U.S.

American Indian adjective