2
: belonging to a particular place by birth
a native New Yorker
3
archaic
: closely related
4
: belonging to or associated with one by birth
… hailed in his native Sweden as an influential dramatist …—
William Peden
William Peden6
a
: grown, produced, or originating in a particular place or in the vicinity : local
native fruits and vegetables
b
: living or growing naturally in a particular region : indigenous
native wildlife of Australia
7
: simple, unaffected
… our feelings still native and entire, unsophisticated by pedantry …—Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke8
a
: constituting the original substance or source
… the way I must return to native dust?—John Milton
John Milton
b
: found in nature especially in an unadulterated form
mining native silver
9
chiefly Australia
: having a usually superficial (see superficial sense 2) resemblance to a specified English plant or animal
10
Native
: of, relating to, or being a member of an Indigenous people of North or South America : native american
natively
adverb
nativeness
noun
plural natives
1
: one born or reared in a particular place
2
a
often Native plural Natives
: an original or Indigenous inhabitant
b
: something indigenous to a particular locality
3
: a local resident
especially
: a person who has always lived in a place as distinguished from a visitor or a temporary resident
Examples of native in a Sentence
Adjective
people who are native to France
She has a native ability to learn quickly.
The island is home to several native species of trees.
Noun
She's a native of France who moved to the United States when she was 15.
He wishes he could speak Spanish like a native.
The plant is a native of Central and South America.
Recent Examples on the Web
Judy Berman, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
Picture the golden glow of Black-eyed Susans and the architectural elegance of native grasses swaying in the prairie breeze.
—Rosehill Gardens, Kansas City Star, 13 Feb. 2026
Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 14 Feb. 2026
Kauf, a 29-year-old Colorado native, raced against 2022 individual Olympic champion Jakara Anthony of Australia in the final.
—Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for native
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.
Adjective
Derry Girls, which followed teens in McGee’s native Derry in the years preceding 1998’s Good Friday Agreement, was a raucous, joke-dense show that juxtaposed mundane adolescent rites of passage with the daily horrors of life in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
—Judy Berman, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
Picture the golden glow of Black-eyed Susans and the architectural elegance of native grasses swaying in the prairie breeze.
—Rosehill Gardens, Kansas City Star, 13 Feb. 2026
Noun
For Dallas’ Black community in the late 1950s through the 1960s, the Forest Theater was the place to see and be seen, recalls Shirley Rhodes, an 80-year-old South Dallas native who spent Saturdays there during her childhood while engrossed in the cinematic offerings.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 14 Feb. 2026
Kauf, a 29-year-old Colorado native, raced against 2022 individual Olympic champion Jakara Anthony of Australia in the final.
—Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for native
Cite this Entry
“Native.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/native. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
native
1 of 2 adjective
na·tive
ˈnāt-iv 
1
: inborn sense 1, natural
native ability
2
: born in a particular place or country
native Hawaiians
3
: belonging to one because of the place or circumstances of one's birth
my native language
4
a
: grown, produced, or having its beginning in a particular region
native art
native stone
b
: living or growing naturally in a particular region
native plants
5
: found in nature especially in a pure form : not artificially prepared
native salt
6
capitalized
: of, relating to, or being a member of an Indigenous people of North or South America : native american
natively
adverb
native
2 of 2 noun1
: one born or raised in a particular place
a native of Milwaukee
2
a
: an original or Indigenous inhabitant
b
: something indigenous to a particular locality
3
: a local resident
Medical Definition
native
adjective
na·tive
ˈnāt-iv
1
: belonging to or associated with one by birth
2
: living or growing naturally in a particular region
3
a
: constituting the original substance or source
b
: found in nature especially in an unadulterated form
conversion of a native protein to a denatured protein
natively
adverb
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