non-native
adjective
non-na·tive
ˌnän-ˈnā-tiv 
variants
or nonnative
: not native: such as
a
of a plant or animal
: living or growing in a place that is not the location of its natural occurrence
a non-native fish species
… overgrazing causes grasslands to give way to sagebrush, mesquite and non-native exotic grasses, environmentalists contend.—
Doug McInnis
Doug McInnis
b
: not born or raised in the place where a particular language is spoken
non-native inhabitants
a nonnative speaker of English [=a person who speaks English but whose native language is not English]
non-native
noun
or nonnative
plural non-natives or nonnatives
popular among both natives and non-natives
Examples of non-native in a Sentence
nonnative customs that made the recent immigrants stand out in their new country
Recent Examples on the Web
Learn more about native and non-native plants that attract nighttime pollinators.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 June 2025
When University of California, Davis, researchers first began studying four ponds at the park, they were overwhelmed by non-native American bullfrogs, a news release said.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2025
The non-native animal had, oddly enough, become a living pillar of Florida’s peculiar history.
—Michaela Mulligan, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 June 2025
The brown leafy algae had been under attack from a non-native species known as sargassum, trying to take it the coastline, said Nancy Caruso, a marine biologist who has been surveying and studying the kelp for more than a decade.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for non-native
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Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 June 2025
When University of California, Davis, researchers first began studying four ponds at the park, they were overwhelmed by non-native American bullfrogs, a news release said.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2025
The non-native animal had, oddly enough, become a living pillar of Florida’s peculiar history.
—Michaela Mulligan, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 June 2025
The brown leafy algae had been under attack from a non-native species known as sargassum, trying to take it the coastline, said Nancy Caruso, a marine biologist who has been surveying and studying the kelp for more than a decade.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for non-native
Cite this Entry
“Non-native.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/non-native. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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