as in settler
a person who settles in a new region
over time the colonists began to sense that they were becoming a people unto themselves
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Recent Examples of colonist
Pairing apple pie and cheddar cheese is an American tradition that began with English colonists and persists today in the Northeast and Midwest.
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Staff Author, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Sep. 2025
Aside from parts of Mexico, where flour tortillas (and then burritos) originated after Spanish colonists brought wheat with them in the 16th century, corn has long been the grain of choice throughout Latin America.
—Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 26 Sep. 2025
The black goo helped bring about the end of the Engineers; the xenomorphs, the end of various colonist human groups; and now the Lost Boys are wrenching the world from their adult overlords.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
European colonists in America killed beavers primarily for their furs and for their scent glands, which were (and are) used in perfumes.
—Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colonist
Staff Author, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Sep. 2025
Aside from parts of Mexico, where flour tortillas (and then burritos) originated after Spanish colonists brought wheat with them in the 16th century, corn has long been the grain of choice throughout Latin America.
—Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 26 Sep. 2025
The black goo helped bring about the end of the Engineers; the xenomorphs, the end of various colonist human groups; and now the Lost Boys are wrenching the world from their adult overlords.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
European colonists in America killed beavers primarily for their furs and for their scent glands, which were (and are) used in perfumes.
—Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colonist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonist
Noun
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Their inhabitants have been forced off their land by a combination of settlers and the Army, which are often indistinguishable from each other.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
16 Oct. 2025
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Big Bone Lick's annual Salt Festival See demonstrations of early settler ways of life, salt making, archery, spear and tomahawk throwing.—
Caroline Ritzie,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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On the fashion front, Schumacher, which was founded in New York by Parisian Frederic Schumacher in 1889, has been a pioneer in collaborations from its dawn.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
14 Oct. 2025
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Windridge said discussions about fusion’s future and possible arrival always remind her of a quote attributed to the Russian physicist Lev Artsimovich, an early fusion pioneer.—
Jeff Young,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In 1795, at the height of Mexico’s colonial rule, the king of Spain granted the first license to distill agave wine, the period name for what’s now tequila, to the Cuervo family.—
David Shortell,
Travel + Leisure,
28 Sep. 2025
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Widespread Filipino immigration to the United States began in the 20th century, sparked by U.S. colonial rule in the Philippines, per Stanford University.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Colonist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonist. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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