ethnicity

noun

eth·​nic·​i·​ty eth-ˈni-sə-tē How to pronounce ethnicity (audio)
plural ethnicities
1
: ethnic quality or affiliation
aspects of ethnicity
2
: a particular ethnic affiliation or group
students of diverse ethnicities

Examples of ethnicity in a Sentence

a university with a student body of diverse ethnicities
Recent Examples on the Web These assessment tools consider various factors such as age, race or ethnicity, history of past breast biopsies, and familial breast cancer history. Kristina Behr, Parents, 15 Mar. 2024 Of the 36 companies that delineate new hire demographics by race and ethnicity, just one-third hired more than 50% of people of color. Byruth Umoh, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024 White teens were more likely to use delta-8 and weed than those of any other race or ethnicity. Jen Christensen, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 The report recommended that the VA analyze and collect more data on severe complications as well as data on the mental health, race and ethnicity of veterans who experience complications to understand the causes behind the increase and the reasons for the disparity. Cassandra Jaramillo, ProPublica, 23 Feb. 2024 That agency scientific integrity initiatives would single out knowledge based on social categories like race and ethnicity is unscientific. James Broughel, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Critics say that measuring diversity by looking at race and ethnicity, like this survey does, creates an incentive for companies to favor candidates of color for certain jobs, potentially bypassing white applicants. Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Regarding race and ethnicity, the percentage of Asian and Asian American females increased from 8.1% in 2022 to 9.2% in 2023 and Native American characters increased to 0.6%, up from 0.0% in 2022. Angelique Jackson, Variety, 27 Feb. 2024 The data looks at all owners and renters based on race and ethnicity in both counties, and the percentages reflect the number of homeowners from each race or ethnic pool that own their own home. Rebecca San Juan, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ethnicity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ethnicity was in 1920

Dictionary Entries Near ethnicity

Cite this Entry

“Ethnicity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnicity. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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