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

• alien
• foreign

Examples of non-native in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To do so, Lale talks to nature writer Jessica J. Lee about how, as she's lived around the world, learning about non-native plants has given her a sense of belonging. —Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Apr. 2024

At Nebraska Indian Community College, with three campuses on or near the Omaha and Santee reservations, the pandemic more than doubled native enrollment, according to the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, while the number of non-native students increased nearly twelvefold. —Matt Krupnick, The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024

Widely rolled out detection tools could put more pressure on non-native speakers who are already tasked with overcoming language barriers. —Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 11 Apr. 2024

Today, however, the biggest threats are non-native predators, such as foxes and feral cats. —Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024

Weed Wrangles are single-day events in public parks and green spaces where volunteers remove non-native invasive plants. —Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Mar. 2024

William Harris was one of the first non-native settlers in the Independence-Blue Springs area, according to the Lee’s Summit History Museum. —Janice Phelan, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2024

Other research suggests those programs are more likely to flag text that’s written by non-native English speakers as being AI-generated. —Silas Allen, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2024

Furthermore, given that medical tourism often participates in a cash-only economy in non-native borders, patients often may not have means to seek recourse or respite in case of poor outcomes. —Sai Balasubramanian, M.d., J.d., Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above