american

Everyday

1. From or about the United States of America: American food, an American city. tree →
2. A person from the United States. tree →
3. From or about the Americas as a whole (North, Central and South America), as in the American continents or Native American peoples. tree →

In the lessons

In geography and history, American usually means of the USA, which has 50 states and the capital Washington, D.C. In language lessons, American English differs from British English in some words and spellings: color/colour, sidewalk/pavement, fall/autumn, sneakers/trainers. Phrases: "American English", "Native American", "North American", "Latin American", "an American football game".

Examples

• My cousin is American; she lives in Texas. tree →
• American football is different from soccer. tree →
• In American English you write "color"; in British English, "colour". tree →
• The bald eagle is the national bird of the USA, an American symbol. tree →
• Native Americans lived in America long before Europeans came. tree →
• We watched an American film about a dog. tree →
• Canada is also in North America. tree →
• The American flag has 50 stars, one for each state. tree →
• (18) A North American Indian story. tree →

Note

Always written with a capital A: American, not "american" (the entry word is lower case only because of the list). Use "an": an American. Careful: "America" often means the USA, but the Americas are two whole continents, and Canadians and Mexicans are North Americans too, so they may not like being called simply "American".