Recent Examples on the WebThe heat wave also ratcheted up fire danger, breaking a slew of fire weather records over a broad area and helping to stoke blazes in British Columbia, California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Montana.—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024 In 2003, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her contributions to acting.—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 22 Apr. 2024 My grandfather’s grandfather—a tall, corpulent Indian, prone to indulging in fine wines, fine poetry, and fine art—lived in Delhi and worked for the British.—Madhur Jaffrey, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024 Perlin traces this through Phoenician, Greek, Roman, and other ancient civilizations, and up through more modern sea powers, such as the Venice, Portugal, Spain, Holland, and the British Empire.—Eugene Linden, TIME, 21 Apr. 2024 Despite this, the young couple has mostly kept their relationship private — something the Enola Holmes actor opened up about in a March 17 interview with British Vogue.—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024 Although the famous sculptures of the Parthenon, the Elgin Marbles, are controversially still held at the British Museum in London, the Parthenon still affords views of ancient sculptures, particularly on the east pediment.—David Unsworth, Fox News, 20 Apr. 2024 Taylor Swift style expert Sarah Chapelle quickly tracked down the $65 sweatshirt to the website of Frankie Collective, a vintage and reworked clothing seller in Vancouver, British Columbia.—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 20 Apr. 2024 In the fall, the tour returns to North America with performances in Indianapolis, Miami, New Orleans, Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia.—Alex Sundby, CBS News, 19 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'British.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English Bruttische of Britain, from Old English Brettisc, from Brettas Britons, of Celtic origin; akin to Welsh Brython Briton
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of British was
before the 12th century
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