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

The Not Invisible Act was also passed by Congress during Trump's first term in 2020, aimed at addressing the rampant number of missing persons and murder and trafficking of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples. —Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 26 Mar. 2025

The decline in enrollment of American Indian or Alaska Native students was even more dramatic, at 22.1%. —Annie Sciacca, Baltimore Sun, 23 Mar. 2025

Hannah is also a member of the AMA Committee on American Indian Affairs (CAIA) and has advocated for Graduate Medical Education funding for the Indian Health Services on a national scale, including in-person outreach to the offices of many U.S. Senators and Members of Congress. —Victor A. Lopez-Carmen, Md, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025

Nearly a fifth of the American Indian and Alaska Native population reported being in fair or poor health in 2023. —Solcyré Burga, TIME, 21 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