non-white

1 of 2

adjective

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
Among non-white households, 19% or nearly one in five, faced this problem. Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 2 June 2026 Bass Pro did not admit to any wrongdoing, but agreed to appoint a diversity director and to make good-faith efforts to recruit and hire non-white candidates. Andrea Hsu, NPR, 1 June 2026 Jesus Christ is often depicted as a Middle Eastern Semite, likely non-white. Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 May 2026 Black voters comprised most of the non-white electorate; there were no Latino members of Congress outside of states that had been part of Mexico, and no AAPI members outside of majority-AAPI Hawaii. David Weigel, semafor.com, 6 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for non-white

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1806, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1864, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of non-white was in 1806

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Cite this Entry

“Non-white.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/non-white. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.

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