Definition of COLONIST

Examples of colonist in a Sentence

British colonists settled the area in the 18th century. over time the colonists began to sense that they were becoming a people unto themselves

Recent Examples on the Web

Why did all those Native American wizards not mop the floor with Columbus, Cortés, Jackson, and all the other genocidaires Europe and its colonists sent their way? — BostonGlobe.com, "Why the Jewish students at Hogwarts have to be invisible," 9 Feb. 2018 Finally, your colonists will be able to escape from their tiny bubble-domes and wander a lush and lively Mars, thanks to the wonders of terraforming. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: Yakuza Kiwami 2 confirmed for PC next month, H1Z1's new developers call it quits," 12 Apr. 2019 By 1765 many colonists believed that the perfect America would have no Indians in it at all. — Kathleen Duval, WSJ, "‘Frontier Rebels’ Review: The Revolution Out West," 18 Dec. 2018 Since the 1740s, rabble-rousers — rebellious colonists, abolitionists and suffragists among them — have met in the building’s Great Hall. — New York Times, "Boston Grapples With Faneuil Hall, Named for a Slaveholder," 6 June 2018 The planet, Pax, is habitable, but the first pods crash down, leaving the colonists at the mercy of the weather — as well as its sentient plants. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "The 13 best sci-fi books to check out on your new Kindle," 29 Dec. 2018 The soldiers, led by the Comte de Rochambeau, had arrived to support the colonists, according to Harold McCartney, the village historian. — Susan Hodara, New York Times, "Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Affordable, Walkable and Multicultural," 18 Apr. 2018 In the case of the colonists, that prize was mountains of diamonds or gold, or a quick passage to Asia. — The Economist, "The tale of the “Lost Colony” is a chronicle of delusion," 7 June 2018 English colonists took the Africans, who came from what is now Angola, to properties along the James River. — Ben Finley, The Seattle Times, "Historians challenge Northam’s ‘indentured servants’ remark," 11 Feb. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'colonist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.