European

1 of 2

adjective

Eu·​ro·​pe·​an ˌyu̇r-ə-ˈpē-ən 

-ˈpēn

: of, relating to, or characteristic of Europe or its people

Europeanness noun

European

2 of 2

noun

1

: a native or inhabitant of Europe

2

: a person of European descent

Examples of European in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

He was plundered by the European media and (surprise) by NBC for that comment. —John Feinstein, Washington Post, 14 July 2024

The art rock band, which consists of Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and drummer Tom Skinner, announced the cancelation of its European tour in a post on The Smile's social media pages Friday. —Edward Segarra, USA TODAY, 14 July 2024

Noun

Prince William and Prince George let their emotions show at the UEFA European Championship. —Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 15 July 2024

When the two teams meet on Sunday in the final of the 2024 European Football Championship, Spain’s star players will be two young men of color — Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona’s 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, both second generation immigrants. —Ben Sills, Fortune Europe, 15 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1555, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing European

• European American
• European bison
• European chafer
• European corn borer
• European flat
• European flat oyster
• European hornet
• European mountain ash
• European oyster
• European plan
• European red mite
• Indo-European
• Indo-European languages
• non-European
• non-Indo-European
• smaller European elm bark beetle
• un-European

Kids Definition

European

1 of 2 adjective

Eu·​ro·​pe·​an ˌyu̇r-ə-ˈpē-ən 

: of or relating to Europe or its people

European

2 of 2 noun

1

: a person born or living in Europe

2

: a person of European ancestry