non-native

adjective

non-na·​tive ˌnän-ˈnā-tiv 

variants or nonnative

: not native: such as

a

of a plant or animal : living or growing in a place that is not the location of its natural occurrence

a non-native fish species

… overgrazing causes grasslands to give way to sagebrush, mesquite and non-native exotic grasses, environmentalists contend.

—Doug McInnis

b

: not born or raised in the place where a particular language is spoken

non-native inhabitants

a nonnative speaker of English [=a person who speaks English but whose native language is not English]

non-native noun

or nonnative

plural non-natives or nonnatives

popular among both natives and non-natives

Synonyms of non-native

• foreign

Examples of non-native in a Sentence

nonnative customs that made the recent immigrants stand out in their new country

Recent Examples on the Web

On top of e-commerce, the state has been hosting and will host more international events such as the World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics — other potential ways non-native pests could wind up here. — Lizzie Kane july 9, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026

By contrast, a non-native solution typically copies data out of a core platform, processes it on a separate server, and then sends it back. — Brian Stimpfl, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Second, most mantids sold commercially are non-native species. — Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 July 2026

The Statesman reported on their overpopulation last year, serving as a cautionary tale for what can happen when a non-native species gets introduced to the environment. — Hannah Smith july 1, Idaho Statesman, 1 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for non-native

• creative
• locative
• nonnative
• probative
• rotative
• accommodative
• accumulative
• adjudicative
• administrative
• affiliative
• agglutinative
• ameliorative