Meaning & use
native
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Belonging to the place where you were born or grew up.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: native country, native language.
Patterns
- native language
- native country
- native to somewhere
Her native language is Portuguese, but she speaks four others.
He returned to his native village after thirty years.
Tokyo is her native city.
adjectivecomparablebiology
Naturally living or growing in a particular area, not brought in from elsewhere.
Grammar: Often used with to: native to Australia.
Patterns
- native to somewhere
- native species
Koalas are native to Australia.
We planted native grasses to help local bees.
The island's native birds are threatened by rats.
nouncountable
A person born in a particular place, or one who has lived there since childhood.
Grammar: Often followed by of: a native of Chicago.
Patterns
- a native of somewhere
She is a native of Chicago but lives in Spain.
The guide, a native of the valley, knew every trail.
Natives of the town are proud of its bakery.
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Natural and built-in, not learned or added later.
Grammar: Often applied to abilities: native talent.
Patterns
- native talent
- native ability
The boy showed a native talent for drawing.
Her native wit made her a gifted negotiator.
He had a native sense of rhythm.
Word forms
| plural | natives |
|---|
Common combinations
- native speaker
- A native speaker checked my essay for errors.
- native language
- His native language is Korean.
- native species
- Native species are being pushed out by invaders.
- native to
- Tomatoes are native to South America.
- native plant
- Native plants need less water in the garden.
- go native
- After years abroad, he went native and adopted local customs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- indigenous
- Indigenous is stronger and formal, used for peoples or species that have belonged to a place from the earliest times.
- local
- Local only means from or near a place, without the idea of birth or natural origin.
- innate
- Innate means present from birth in a person's character, whereas native can also refer to place.
- inborn
- Inborn describes qualities from birth, but cannot describe places or plants like native can.
Opposites
Word family
- nativity noun
- the circumstances of birth, or the birth of Jesus
- nativism noun
- policy favoring native inhabitants over immigrants
- naturalize verb
- to grant citizenship to a foreigner
- nativist noun
- a person who favors native-born people
Commonly confused: native or naive? native or naturalized?
native vs naive
Naive means lacking experience, and has nothing to do with origin, though it sounds similar.
native vs naturalized
A naturalized citizen was born elsewhere and later granted citizenship, unlike a native.
Practice
Which sentence uses native correctly for a plant?
Choose one answer.
Native to a place describes plants that grew there naturally. The other sentences have wrong grammar or meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “native”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.