American Indian

noun

plural American Indians

: a member of any of the Indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere except often certain peoples (such as the Yupik and Inuit) who live in arctic regions

especially : an American Indian of North America and especially the U.S. compare native american

American Indian adjective

Examples of American Indian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Prevalence among white children was 27.7 per 1,000, which is lower than prevalence among multiracial (31.9), Hispanic (33.0), Black (36.6), American Indian or Alaska Native (37.5), or Asian or Pacific Islander children (38.2). —ArsTechnica, 15 Apr. 2025

Other groups with a lot of kids and teens include people who identified as Some Other Race (28.6 percent), Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (28.3 percent), American Indian or Alaska Native (27.1 percent), and Black or African American (24.7 percent). —Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025

The case’s conclusion comes after the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Missing and Murdered Unit was established in 2019 to revisit cases involving the disappearances and killings American Indian and Alaska Natives, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. —Julia Marnin, Charlotte Observer, 4 Apr. 2025

The main chanter was Obsidian Tiburon, a Taino representative of the American Indian Movement who came down from Orlando to attend the protest. —Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for American Indian

• amerindian

Kids Definition

American Indian

noun

: a member of any of the Indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere except often certain peoples (as the Yupik and Inuit) who live in arctic regions

especially : an American Indian of North America and especially the U.S.

American Indian adjective