Native American

noun

: a member of any of the indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere

especially : a Native American of North America and especially the U.S. compare american indian

Native American adjective

Examples of Native American in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Educators, parents, librarians, lifelong learners and anyone else interested in teaching children about diversity are invited to the launch of the Native American Lives book series at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Minnesota Humanities Center, 987 E. Ivy Ave., St. Paul. —Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 3 Aug. 2025

The Washington Redskins, who were using the name and likeness of a Native American since 1933, became the Washington Football Team in 2020, before eventually landing on the name Washington Commanders soon thereafter. —Doug Melville, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025

Occom also was the first Native American to write his autobiography. —Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 15 July 2025

Gladstone became the first Native American to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress thanks to her starring role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. —Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 7 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Native American

noun

: a member of any of the Indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere

especially : a Native American of North America and especially the U.S. compare american indian

Native American adjective