American Indian

noun

A member of some indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially the continental United States, but excluding the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleuts.

Similar
AmerindAmerindian languageAmerican-Indian languageIndianAmerican Indian languageIndian languageAmerind language
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Meanings

nounAmerican Indian (plural American Indians)

plural American Indians

  1. A member of some indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially the continental United States, but excluding the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleuts.
  2. CanadaAn indigenous person from the United States.
adjectiveAmerican Indian (comparative more American Indian, superlative most American Indian)

comparative more American Indian · superlative most American Indian

  1. Relating to the indigenous peoples of the Americas or their languages.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounany of the languages spoken by Amerindians

Similar
AmerindAmerindian languageAmerican-Indian languageIndianAmerican Indian languageIndian languageAmerind language
Broader
natural languagetongue
Also see
amerindindiannative americannorth american indianred man

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

American + Indian. The noun is attested since 1702, the adjective since shortly thereafter.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

American Indian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/American%20Indian

MLA

“American Indian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/American%20Indian. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “American Indian,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/American%20Indian.

Source: American Indian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.