Hawaiian

noun

Ha·wai·ian hə-ˈwä-yən

-ˈwī-(y)ən,

-ˈwȯ-yən

: a native or resident of Hawaii

especially : one of Polynesian ancestry

Note: In Hawaii, the word Hawaiian is understood as an ethnic designation for a native person of Polynesian descent, and its use in the more general sense "a resident of Hawaii" is considered an error.

: the Polynesian language of the Hawaiians

Hawaiian adjective

Examples of Hawaiian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The unrestricted award comes with professional services and goes to four native Hawaiian and 12 Indigenous artists and collective groups. —

The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 30 Jan. 2025 The bank’s Lift Up Homeownership Program is meant to help first-time homebuyers who are Black, Latino, Native American, Asian or native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander make a down payment on a home. —

Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2025 With more than half of San Diego’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander residents being first-generation immigrants, creating opportunities for intergenerational connection is essential. —

Jason Paguio, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Jan. 2025 What To Know The storm is set to bring impacts to all Hawaiian Islands as early as late Wednesday night. —

Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for Hawaiian