Meanings
plural African-Americans · alternative African American
- A member of an ethnic group consisting of Americans of black African (particularly Niger-Congo) descent.
Synonyms: Afro-American, Afromerican, unbleached American, BIPOC, BME, colored, colored person, minority
comparative more African-American · superlative most African-American · alternative African American
- Of a person, pertaining to the African-American ethnicity.
The rioters overshadowed the message of peaceful protesters on prior days: They had called for justice for Gray, a 25-year-old African-American man who died from spinal injuries after police arrested him this month.
2015 April 28, Ben Brumfield, “Baltimore riots: A few people tried to stop the unrest”, in CNNSynonyms: Afro-American
- USbroadlyoffensiveproscribedsometimesBlack.
- Of or pertaining to the culture of African-American people.
African-American music
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA member of an ethnic group consisting of Americans of black African (particularly Niger-Congo) descent.
adjectiveOf a person, pertaining to the African-American ethnicity.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivepertaining to or characteristic of Americans of African ancestry
nouna person with African ancestry, ‘Negro’ and ‘Negroid’ are archaic and pejorative today
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Patterned on forms such as Irish-American, popularized by Jesse Jackson and in common use since the late 1980s.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أمريكي إفريقي, أمريكية إفريقية
- أمريكي إفريقيA black American
- أمريكية إفريقيةA black American
- أمريكي إفريقيAmerican and black
- أمريكية إفريقيةAmerican and black
Catalan afroamericà, afroamericana
- afroamericàA black American
- afroamericanaA black American
- afroamericàAmerican and black
- afroamericanaAmerican and black
Chinese Mandarin 美國黑人 /美国黑人, 非裔美國人 /非裔美国人
- 美國黑人 /美国黑人 (Měiguó hēirén)A black American
- 非裔美國人 /非裔美国人 (Fēiyì Měiguórén)A black American
Czech Afroameričan, Afroameričanka
- AfroameričanA black American
- AfroameričankaA black American
- afroamerickýAmerican and black
Dutch Afro-Amerikaan, Afro-Amerikaans
- Afro-AmerikaanA black American
- Afro-AmerikaansAmerican and black
Esperanto afrik-usonano
- afrik-usonanoA black American
Finnish afroamerikkalainen, afrikkalaisamerikkalainen
- afroamerikkalainenA black American
- afrikkalaisamerikkalainenA black American
- afroamerikkalainenAmerican and black
- afrikkalaisamerikkalainenAmerican and black
French Afro-Américain, Afro-Américaine
- Afro-AméricainA black American
- Afro-AméricaineA black American
- afro-américainAmerican and black
- afro-américaineAmerican and black
German Afroamerikaner, Afro-Amerikaner
- AfroamerikanerA black American
- Afro-AmerikanerA black American
- AfroamerikanerinA black American
- Afro-AmerikanerinA black American
- afroamerikanischAmerican and black
- afro-amerikanischAmerican and black
Greek αφροαμερικανός
- αφροαμερικανός (afroamerikanós)A black American
Hungarian afroamerikai, afroamerikai
- afroamerikaiA black American
- afroamerikaiAmerican and black
Irish meiriceánaigh afracacha
- meiriceánaigh afracachaA black American
Japanese アフリカ系アメリカ人
- アフリカ系アメリカ人 (Afurika-kei Amerika-jin)A black American
Latvian afroamerikānis, afroamerikāne
- afroamerikānisA black American
- afroamerikāneA black American
Lithuanian afroamerikiẽtis, afroamerikiẽtė
- afroamerikiẽtisA black American
- afroamerikiẽtėA black American
Norwegian Bokmål afroamerikaner
- afroamerikanerA black American
Polish Afroamerykanin, Afroamerykanka
- AfroamerykaninA black American
- AfroamerykankaA black American
- afroamerykańskiAmerican and black
Portuguese afro-americano, afro-americana
- afro-americanoA black American
- afro-americanaA black American
- afro-americanoAmerican and black
Romanian afroamerican, afroamericană
- afroamericanA black American
- afroamericanăA black American
- afroamericanAmerican and black
- afro-americanAmerican and black
Russian афро-америка́нец, афро-америка́нка
- афро-америка́нец (afro-amerikánec)A black American
- афро-америка́нка (afro-amerikánka)A black American
- чёрный америка́нец (čórnyj amerikánec)A black American
- чёрная америка́нка (čórnaja amerikánka)A black American
- америка́нский негр (amerikánskij negr)A black American
- америка́нская негритя́нка (amerikánskaja negritjánka)A black American
- афроамериканский (afroamerikanskij)American and black
Spanish afroamericano, afroamericana
- afroamericanoA black American
- afroamericanaA black American
- afroamericanoAmerican and black
Swahili wamarekani weusi, wamarekani wa kiafrika
- wamarekani weusiA black American
- wamarekani wa kiafrikaA black American
- Mwafrika MmarekaniA black American
- Mwafrika MmarekaniAmerican and black
Swedish afroamerikan, afroamerikansk
- afroamerikanA black American
- afroamerikanskAmerican and black
Ukrainian афроамерика́нець, афроамерика́нка
- афроамерика́нець (afroamerykánecʹ)A black American
- афроамерика́нка (afroamerykánka)A black American
Cite this entry
African-American. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/African-American
“African-American.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/African-American. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “African-American,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/African-American.
Source: African-American on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.