colonist

noun

col·​o·​nist ˈkä-lə-nist 

plural colonists

see usage paragraph below

: a member or inhabitant of a colony (see colony sense 1)

the Jamestown/Plymouth colonists

especially : a person who migrates to and settles in a foreign area as part of a colony

Honeybees aren't native to North America; early colonists brought them over from Europe to provide honey and beeswax.

—Paige Embry

Usage of Colonist and Colonizer

Colonist and colonizer both have meanings closely tied to the word colonialism in its use referring to domination of a foreign people or area. Colonist, which comes directly from the noun colony, is the more common—and usually more neutral—term. Colonizer, which comes from the verb colonize, is used especially in contexts in which the exploitative nature of colonialism is being discussed or evoked; in phrases like "colonizer mindset/mentality" it implies a benefit from or even active participation in that exploitation.

Synonyms

• colonial
• colonizer
• frontiersman
• homesteader
• pioneer
• settler

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

Drawing upon the ongoing 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, Trump shared the names and ages of a few of the colonists killed at the 1775 battle of Lexington and Concord, which marked the start of the colonialists' revolt against British rule. —Davis Winkie, USA Today, 27 May 2025

The Afrikaners, descendants of mainly Dutch colonists, left Johannesburg on Sunday night. —Kate Bartlett, NPR, 12 May 2025

The act’s most controversial reform, however, was expanding the official boundary of Quebec to the Ohio River Valley, which conflicted with prominent American colonists’ property interests and their hopes of expanding on the Western frontier. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 May 2025

After a major rebellion at Fort Rosalie in 1729 when the Natchez destroyed French settlements and killed more than 200 colonists, French soldiers defeated the Natchez, killing the remaining natives, deporting them, or selling them into slavery in the Caribbean. —Amy Bentley, Oc Register, 7 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1701, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for colonist

• stalinist

Kids Definition

colonist

noun

col·​o·​nist ˈkäl-ə-nəst 

1

: a person who lives in a colony

2

: a person who takes part in founding a colony