non-white

1 of 2

adjective

ˌnän-ˈ(h)wīt 

variants or less commonly nonwhite

1

: not of a white race (see race entry 1 sense 1a)

non-white immigrants

non-white Alaskans

2

: not of the color white

… I was standing at the very top of the ladder and stretching to paint over the last non-white spot on the ceiling …

—Xaver Bayer

non-white

2 of 2

noun

variants or less commonly nonwhite

plural non-whites also nonwhites

: a person who is not of a white race (see race entry 1 sense 1a)

Examples of non-white in a Sentence

Noun

The program is even less popular among nonwhites.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

To put it simply, the Los Angeles Unified School District gives more resources to schools that are more than 70% non-white, which is the vast majority — about 600. —Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2026

As a non-white viewer, seeing those who have been deemed conventionally attractive or ideal is always interesting to unpack, but it’s never addressed here. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 21 Jan. 2026

Even non-white countries understand that. —Elie Mystal, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026

And being the rare non-white team was its own catalyst for comparison. —Alice Park, Time, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1806, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1864, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for non-white

• affright
• airtight
• albite
• alight
• alright
• aplite
• aright
• bainite
• birthright
• bobwhite
• bornite
• bullfight