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Definition of "native" []

  • Existing in or belonging to one by nature; innate: native ability. (adjective)
  • Being such by birth or origin: a native Scot. (adjective)
  • Being one's own because of the place or circumstances of one's birth: our native land. (adjective)
  • Originating, growing, or produced in a certain place or region; indigenous: a plant native to Asia. (adjective)
  • Being a member of the original inhabitants of a particular place. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "native" in a sentence
  • "They don't want to be a part of Taiwan so how do they have any right to any opinion on the term native Taiwanese?"
  • "Some people were urging the newspapers to drop the word native from their headlines, others found it hard to know what the hiding of the painful truth would do."
  • "Massachusetts has similar restrictions for the word "native.""