american
american — adjective
1. connected with the United States — its people, places, products, culture, or gov
connected with the United States — its people, places, products, culture, or government.
Ilya drives a big American truck made in Detroit.
describes products and goods made in the USA
Priya married an American man from Oregon last summer.
describes a person's nationality (USA)
The shop sells American snacks like peanut butter and Hershey's chocolate.
My uncle works at the American embassy in Tokyo.
Hip-hop and jazz are two famous American music styles.
用法筆記
Most often refers to the USA, not the wider continent. When a learner needs to be precise about North or South America as a continent, use sense 2 or say 'from Canada / Mexico / Brazil' etc.
常見錯誤
2. connected with the whole continent of North America or South America, including
connected with the whole continent of North America or South America, including countries such as Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
Llamas and jaguars are two well-known American animals.
wildlife native to the continents of the Americas
The professor studies ancient American civilizations like the Aiko and Inca.
refers to peoples or cultures across the Americas
Soccer is the most popular sport in many South American countries.
Coffee, potatoes, and tomatoes all started as American crops thousands of years ago.
- Pan-American
formal, stresses unity across all countries of the Americas
用法筆記
Often appears as 'North American', 'South American', 'Latin American', or 'Native American' to avoid being mistaken for sense 1 (USA-only). Distinguish from sense 1 by checking whether the context covers more than just the United States.
常見錯誤
american — noun
1. a person who was born in the United States or who holds US citizenship.
a person who was born in the United States or who holds US citizenship.
About forty Americans live in our small fishing village in Taiwan.
countable, plural form 'Americans'
Xander became an American after passing his citizenship test in Houston.
'become an American' — gain US citizenship
Many Americans eat turkey and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day.
Aiko is an American, but her parents were born in Vietnam.
- US citizen
more formal and precise; common in legal or news contexts
- Yank
informal and sometimes joking, used mainly by British and Australian speakers
文法句型
an American
Americans (plural)
用法筆記
Always capitalised. Takes the indefinite article 'an' (not 'a') because it begins with a vowel sound. Plural 'Americans' is used for groups; singular often appears with 'an'.
常見錯誤
2. the variety of English spoken in the United States, especially when compared wit
the variety of English spoken in the United States, especially when compared with British English.
In American, you say 'elevator' and 'sidewalk' instead of 'lift' and 'pavement'.
'in American' — inside the US English variety
Lin's textbook teaches American, so she pronounces 'water' with a soft t.
uncountable; no article before 'American'
After ten years in Boston, Pierre now speaks fluent American.
The dictionary marks 'color' as American and 'colour' as British.
- American English
the full, neutral term preferred in textbooks and dictionaries
- US English
common in language teaching and software locale settings (en-US)
- British English
the variety of English used in the UK; standard contrast partner
文法句型
in American
speak American
用法筆記
Uncountable and informal — most reference books prefer the fuller name 'American English'. Distinguish from sense 1 (a person): if you can replace the word with 'a US citizen', you have sense 1; if you can replace it with 'US English', you have sense 2.