- 1a person who was born in a particular country or area a native of New York
- 2a person who lives in a particular place, especially someone who has lived there a long time synonym local You can always tell the difference between the tourists and the natives. She speaks Italian like a native.
- 3(old-fashioned) (offensive) a word used in the past by Europeans to describe a person who lived in a place originally, before white people arrived there disputes between early settlers and natives
- 4an animal or a plant that lives or grows naturally in a particular area The kangaroo is a native of Australia.
Check pronunciation: native