African-American means: A member of an ethnic group consisting of Americans of black African descent.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
African-American
A member of an ethnic group consisting of Americans of black African (particularly Niger-Congo) descent.
ˈæ.fɹɪ.kən əˈmɛɹ.ɪ.kənDocumented since 1980s1980sGen XhistoricalCurrent65 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
Seen in the wild
4 citations · last seen May 2026
Etymology timeline
Born ~1980 · 1 year of recorded useGen X eraSee decade cohort →
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
Supreme Court -- waiting 32 days to disenfranchise African-American voters is waiting too long. www.dailykos.com/stories/2026... clarence thomas' IDEA, STALL until it's TOO LATE!!!
View source
BlueskyMay 2026
My intrigue will be around Williams in particular. I do not know how much of his antics were to retain popularity as an African-American GOP representative. Said antics did not allow him to retain a seat.
View source
BlueskyMay 2026
#MothersDay Cradle (Mother and Three Children), circa 1970, by African-American artist John Thomas Biggers (1924-2001). Graphite and Conté crayon on paper 76 x 57 cm #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
View source
BlueskyMay 2026
There will be no African-American Rs in the House next year. The 4 - count 'em, 4 - now are running for other offices or retiring. So, yeah, vanishingly unlikely.
View source
Definitions
Global
#1·Apr 27, 2026Global
A member of an ethnic group consisting of Americans of black African (particularly Niger-Congo) descent.
Origin: Patterned on forms such as Irish-American, popularized by Jesse Jackson and in common use since the late 1980s. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
For parents
African-American means: A member of an ethnic group consisting of Americans of black African descent.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
For ESL learners
African-American means: A member of an ethnic group consisting of Americans of black African descent.. Register: neutral, standard English. Common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; always check the context before producing it yourself. A formal-English equivalent (a synonym or descriptive phrase) is usually safer in writing. When in doubt, paraphrase rather than reuse the slang form.
Heard in the wild
“There will be no African-American Rs in the House next year. The 4 - count 'em, 4 - now are running for other offices or retiring. So, yeah, vanishingly unlikely.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Was this helpful?
Comments
US-BLACK
#2·Apr 27, 2026US-BLACK
(US, broadly, proscribed, sometimes, offensive) Any black American person; by extension, any black person.
Was this helpful?
Comments
Global
#3·Apr 27, 2026Global
(of a person) Pertaining to the African-American ethnicity.
The rioters overshadowed the message of peaceful protesters on prior days: They had called for justice for Gray, a 25-year-old African-American man who died from spinal injuries after police arrested him this month.
Heard in the wild
“Supreme Court -- waiting 32 days to disenfranchise African-American voters is waiting too long. www.dailykos.com/stories/2026... clarence thomas' IDEA, STALL until it's TOO LATE!!!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“My intrigue will be around Williams in particular. I do not know how much of his antics were to retain popularity as an African-American GOP representative. Said antics did not allow him to retain a seat.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“#MothersDay Cradle (Mother and Three Children), circa 1970, by African-American artist John Thomas Biggers (1924-2001). Graphite and Conté crayon on paper 76 x 57 cm #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Was this helpful?
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Used in
GlobalUS-BLACK
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "African-American".
⚡About Tech, Dev & AI slang
The vocabulary of software engineers, AI researchers, and anyone living in a terminal or on GitHub — from LLM to MCP, CORS to vibe coding, agentic to enshittification.
See all Tech, Dev & AI slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "African-American" (A)
afk pilledafk sznAFLAfPakafperafreardAfrican golfAfrican massageAfricanoidAfrican'tAfrican timeAfrican toothache
Browse all slang words starting with A.