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

Zelenskyy’s efforts, and the fact that he was joined by a European delegation, seemed help keep discussions on the right track. —Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025

Stanley has collaborated with Lionel Messi, Post Malone, and most recently, Arsenal Football Club—its most significant European move to date. —Lela London, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025

Noun

The European Union last month pledged to buy $700 billion of American energy products. —Christopher Helman, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025

Thirty-nine countries’ goods, as well as members of the European Union, are subject to 15% tariffs, according to a list the White House published last week. —Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025

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

Rhymes for European

• adlerian
• caesarian
• cyclopean
• empyrean
• euclidean
• grammarian
• hercynian
• huronian
• jacobean
• kampuchean
• maccabean
• manichaean

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