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

As Lake Powell filled and the dam pulsed cold water from its depths all year, the river began to favor cold-water species such as non-native rainbow trout, creating a trophy sport fishery for several miles downstream. —Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025

The focal point of the garden is a strawberry tree in the back of the garden by the front porch — ironically, the one non-native plant in the yard — said Richardson. —Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Dec. 2025

Researchers say testing fungi from the state prevents the possibility of introducing non-native fungi to the state. —Cole Premo, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025

Clover White clover (Trifolium repens) is a low-growing, non-native, cool-season perennial. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 30 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for non-native

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