1
a
: of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background
ethnic minorities
ethnic enclaves
b
: being a member of a specified ethnic group
an ethnic German
c
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a minority ethnic group
ethnic neighborhoods
ethnic foods
2
: of or relating to the Gentiles or to nations not converted to Christianity : pagan
… ancient ethnic revels of a faith long since forsaken …—
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
chiefly US
: a member of an ethnic group
especially
: a member of a minority group who retains the customs, language, or social views of the group
Synonyms
Examples of ethnic in a Sentence
Adjective
The U.S. has a wide variety of ethnic groups made up of immigrants or their descendants.
a festival featuring ethnic food and music
Recent Examples on the WebKate Erbland, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2024
This vitality, however, is challenging what Little Tokyo has traditionally stood for as an ethnic community defined by its history.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2024
Robert Rubsam, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
Even during the 1930s and 1940s, when Blacks and Jews cumulatively accounted for less than 5 percent of Minneapolis’s population, the police force was drawn from white ethnics.
—Samuel G. Freedman, The New Republic, 21 June 2023
See all Example Sentences for ethnic 
Adjective
Overall, the percentage of underrepresented characters (44 percent) was similar to the percentage of the U.S. population that identifies with an underrepresented racial/ethnic group (41.1 percent).
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2024
This vitality, however, is challenging what Little Tokyo has traditionally stood for as an ethnic community defined by its history.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2024
Noun
This storybook world is beset by problems, anarchists and aristocrats and casual cracks about Jews and Slavs and non-Austro-German ethnics of all kinds.
—Robert Rubsam, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
Even during the 1930s and 1940s, when Blacks and Jews cumulatively accounted for less than 5 percent of Minneapolis’s population, the police force was drawn from white ethnics.
—Samuel G. Freedman, The New Republic, 21 June 2023
See all Example Sentences for ethnic
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ethnic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Ethnic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnic. Accessed 12 Sep. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ethnic
1 of 2 noun
eth·nic
ˈeth-nik 
: a member of an ethnic group
especially
: a member of a minority group who keeps customs, language, or social ideas of the group
ethnic
2 of 2 adjective1
: of or relating to groups of people with common traits and customs and a sense of shared identity
ethnic minorities
2
: of or relating to ethnics
ethnic neighborhoods
ethnically
adverb
-ni-k(ə-)lē
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