Americana
//əˌmɛɹɪˈkænə// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 All things peculiar to the culture and people of the United States; anything that is a symbol of American life. plural, plural-only
"Today Coke exists as nostalgic brand, harking back to the day when the drink enjoyed its peak iconic stature. Coke now stands for 1950s Americana."
- 2 any artifact (such as books or furniture or art) that is distinctive of America wordnet
- 3 An amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles. plural, plural-only
"The music that became Americana crossed racial lines very early, becoming one of the major integrating forces in America. The chapter shows how artists such as Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers were creating and playing Americana long before we had a name for what they were doing."
Example
More examples"The National Museum of American History is filled with Americana, including an exhibit on the invention of the video game."
Etymology
From America + -ana.
Related phrases
More for "americana"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.