native

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA ^(key): /ˈneɪtɪv/
• (US) IPA ^(key): /ˈneɪtəv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

Positive native

Comparative more native

Superlative most native

1. If something is native, it belongs to you by birth.

   This is my native land.

   English is not my native language.

   I'm a native New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn.

2. If a group of people are native to an area, they have been there since the beginning.

   The native peoples of Australia are called aborigines.

Antonyms

• foreign

Noun

Singular native

Plural natives

1. (countable) A person who is native to a place; the word is sometimes used by colonizers to negatively describe indigenous people.

   Some natives must have stolen our cattle.

2. (countable) A native is someone who was born in the place being talked about.

   To enter the state beauty contest, you must be a native of the state.

Antonyms

• foreigner