American Indian

noun

"american-indian" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“American Indian” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of some indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially the continental United States, but excluding the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleuts.

Corpus desk

Index EN-american-indian · American Indian · English

American Indian · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for American Indian
PropertyValue
HeadwordAmerican Indian
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “American Indian” in English

American Indianfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

American Indian is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for American Indian, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: American + Indian. The noun is attested since 1702, the adjective since shortly thereafter. The correct English form is American Indian, spelled A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N- -I-N-D-I-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A member of some indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially the continental United States, but excluding the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleuts.
  2. 2
    An indigenous person from the United States.

Etymology

American + Indian. The noun is attested since 1702, the adjective since shortly thereafter.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "American Indian"?
"American Indian" is spelled A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N- -I-N-D-I-A-N.
What does "American Indian" mean?
As a noun, "American Indian" means: A member of some indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially the continental United States, but excluding the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleuts.
What is the origin of the word "American Indian"?
American + Indian. The noun is attested since 1702, the adjective since shortly thereafter. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list