N-word

noun

ˈen-ˌwərd How to pronounce N-word (audio)
Phrases
the N-word or less commonly the n-word
—used euphemistically to refer to the word nigger
A suburban Philadelphia school expelled "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from its curriculum over the book's overuse of the N-word.—David K. Li

Examples of N-word in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keyser was booted after a resurfaced video of her using the N-word began making the rounds online. — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 28 June 2026 Shortly after her debut on the hit reality series, online sleuths uncovered a video in which Alannah allegedly uses the N-word while singing along to a song. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 22 June 2026 Casa Amor’s Alannah Keyser is the latest Love Island contestant to get fired after a video surfaced of her allegedly using the N-word. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 26 June 2026 Just three days before the premiere, OG Islander Vasana Montgomery was pulled from the cast after social media posts surfaced of her allegedly using the N-word. — Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for N-word

Word History

First Known Use

1985, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of N-word was in 1985

Rhymes for N-word

See All Rhymes for N-word

Browse Nearby Words

NWG
N-word
NWS
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“N-word.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/N-word. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All