What does "nigger" mean?
A black person; a person of black African descent.
Nigger
/ˈnɪɡə(ɹ)/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A black person; a person of black African descent.
- Grammar: nigger is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: jigaboo, nigga, american indian, amerind.
- Useful contrasts: compliment, external slur, nonreclaimed insult.
- Usage evidence: The word "nigger" is an offensive term.
How to use "nigger"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "nigger" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "nigger" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "nigger" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "nigger" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "nigger" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "jigaboo" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "nigger", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A black person; a person of black African descent. ethnic, offensive, slur, vulgar
"It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger—but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither."
- 2 (ethnic slur) extremely offensive name for a Black person wordnet
- 3 A black person; a person of black African descent.; A person of black African descent who behaves badly or unconventionally (whether the speaker approves or disapproves). ethnic, offensive, slang, slur, vulgar
"There's black people, and there's niggers. And niggers have got to go. Every time black people wanna have a good time, ign'ant-ass niggers fuck it up."
- 4 A member of any typically dark-skinned people (now especially in combinations like prairie nigger or sand nigger). ethnic, offensive, slur, vulgar
"He never lost his appetite - He bigger grew and bigger; And proved, with every inch of height, A nigger is a nigger."
- 5 A friend, particularly a fellow black person (often as an informal term of address).
"“Snoop Dog!” one of them yelled. “That’s my nigga from Long Beach, man.”"
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 A person of any kind (particularly as a term of abuse). figuratively
"People be surprised. I have friends who're all kinds a letters. Everybody loves me an' I love everybody. I got friends who are Ls, I got friends who are Bs, and I got friends who are Gs. But the Ts hate my fucking guts. And I don't blame 'em! It's not their fault. It's mine. I can't stop tellin' jokes about these niggas."
- 7 A member of a group that is oppressed or marginalized in the manner of black people. especially, offensive
"The governor made it into office by campaigning against the niggers. And people should understand who the niggers are. It's the elderly one week. Then it's those on public assistance. Now he sees women as niggers, and he's trying to do them in."
- 8 Any of various dark animals:; Any member of species Girella tricuspidata (luderick). offensive
- 9 Any of various dark animals:; A dark brown nymphalid butterfly, Orsotriaena medus, of south Asia, southeast Asia, and Australia. dated, offensive
"Nigger (Male) Orsotriaena medus moira Waterhouse and Lyell. 1914."
- 10 Any of various dark animals:; A kind of sea cucumber, Holothuria forskali, the cotton-spinner. Cornwall, UK, archaic, offensive
- 11 Any of various dark animals:; The larva of the turnip sawfly, an agricultural pest. archaic, offensive
"To this group belongs the nigger, or black caterpillar of the turnip, which is often in sufficient numbers to do much mischief."
- 12 An impurity in the covering of an electrical conductor which serves to make a partial short circuit, and thus becomes sufficiently heated to burn and destroy the insulation. archaic
"Now to locate the portion of the machine which contains the "nigger.""
- 13 A strong iron-bound timber with sharp teeth or spikes protruding from its front face, forming part of the machinery of a sawmill, and used in canting logs, etc. archaic
"A sawyer will come along and be touted and recommended as the best in the country when his chief qualifications will be his ability to jerk the carriage back and forth in a hurry without striking the bumper or to turn the log with the nigger […]"
- 14 A steam-capstan on some Mississippi river boats, used to haul the boat over bars and snags by a rope fastened to a tree on the bank. US, archaic
"Well, it's a big heavy line, and you operate the nigger — capstan it's also called — by steam. You wrap your line around that and keep taking in the slack, and that draws up them things."
- 15 A black screen used in conjunction with the camera to block light or produce special lighting effects. dated
"Care should be taken to check visually from the position occupied by the subject and from the camera also, to ascertain that the nigger is positioned correctly and does not obstruct the picture area."
Verb
- 1 To clear land by laying light pieces of round timber across the trunks of the trees and setting fire to them at the point of contact, by which means the trees are slowly burned through. dated, transitive
"[…] he resorted to the practice of “niggering,” as it is called: which is simply laying light pieces of round timber across the trunks of the trees and setting fire to them at the point of contact; by which means the trees are slowly burned through."
- 2 To exhaust (soil) by cropping it year by year without manure. dated, transitive
- 3 To perform in blackface. intransitive, offensive
"There is a general agreement that niggering took over from mummering to keep up the old custom."
- 4 To behave as a stereotypical black person. intransitive, offensive
"His father said, “Niggering, I was niggering about. You knew that surely.”"
- 5 To treat as inferior. offensive, transitive, uncommon
"The gated community is a powerful tool in the systematic and sustained niggering of local 3rd-world communities - namely, in the book, the Hispanic (mostly wetbacK^([sic])) community[.]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A given name for a black pet. historical, offensive
"Gibson's real affinity is with his dog, Nigger. When we first see Gibson returning from a raid, he is overjoyed to see his four-legged friend […]"
- 2 Niger (nation). derogatory
"Recently the head nigger arrested 60 children from Benin, Togo, Niggeria, Ghana and Nigger, along with 20 of their Slave Masters, who were immigrants from West Africoonia."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The word "nigger" is an offensive term."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "nigger"?
Common synonyms include: jigaboo, nigga, american indian, amerind, australian aborigine, black.
How do you use "nigger" in a sentence?
The word "nigger" is an offensive term.
How do you pronounce "nigger"?
Pronounced /ˈnɪɡə(ɹ)/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Middle French nègre (“a black person”), from Spanish negro. Ultimately from Latin niger (“black”), thus a doublet of negro and noir. The expected Modern English pronunciation would be with /iː/; compare neger. The modern pronunciation with /ɪ/ may be due to influence from the Latin etymon (compare the older Southern US pronunciation of negro with /ɪ/), but compare the dialectal American pronunciations of eagle and eager as /ˈɪɡəl/ and /ˈɪɡɚ/. Compare Danish neger, Swedish neger, German Neger, Dutch neger. First use appears c. 1577, in the writings of Edward Hellowes (fl. 1574–1601).
Etymology 2
In reference to the color black, from nigger.
Etymology 3
Blend of Niger + nigger.