Meaning & use

Yankee

noun·Everyday

An informal term for a person from the United States, especially the northern states.

See it in a sentence

Southerners sometimes jokingly called the visiting tourists Yankees because of their accents.

During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers referred to Union troops as Yankees.

A note on using this word

Outside the United States, Yankee often refers to any American; within the country, it more narrowly means someone from the North or New England.

Words with a similar meaning

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