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
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Adjective
In the manuscript, dozens of illustrations in it showcase non-white players from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East holding their own against their European opponents. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Mar. 2026 The movie does attempt to gesture at class and race as thematic underpinnings (the maids trapped in The Virgil are mostly non-white, while the villains are rich Caucasians), but like the story and action at large, these go pretty much nowhere, and feel like obligatory symbols. Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026 Wisconsin has long been the state with the widest achievement gap between white and non-white students. ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026 While previous casts were about 50% non-white, Season 8 was only around 30% non-white, Entertainment Weekly reported. Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 17 Feb. 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 24 Mar. 2026.

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