nigger
Nigger (noun) means an extremely offensive racial slur used to refer to a Black person. Considered one of the most inflammatory words in English and avoided in almost all contexts outside quotation, historical discussion, or reclaimed use within some Black communities. Example: “The word is generally spelled out only in academic or historical writing, and even then with care.”
How to use nigger
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA racial slur aimed at Black people — one of the most offensive words in the English language.
Avoid using this word. It appears in dictionaries for reference purposes only, not as a word to use in speech or writing, except when quoting historical sources or discussing the word itself.
Word forms
- Plural
- niggers
- Third person singular
- niggers
- Past tense
- niggered
Etymology
From French nègre and Spanish negro, both ultimately from Latin niger, "black." It was a neutral descriptive term in earlier centuries but became a term of contempt through its long association with slavery and racism, and by the 20th century had become a slur.
