Inuit

noun

In·​u·​it ˈi-n(y)ü-wət 

variants or less commonly Innuit

1

plural Inuit or Inuits also Innuit or Innuits

a

: a group of Indigenous peoples of northern Alaska, arctic Canada, and Greenland

—used especially for those of the Canadian Arctic and Greenland

Note: In Canada, the name Inuit refers to one of three major, legally recognized groups of aboriginal peoples, the other two being the First Nations and the Métis.

see also inuk

b

: a member of such people

2

: any of the languages of the Inuit

Usage of Eskimo and Inuit

Eskimo is a word that presents challenges for anyone who is concerned about avoiding the use of offensive language. Its offensiveness stems partly from a now-discredited belief that it was originally a pejorative term meaning "eater of raw flesh," but perhaps more significantly from its being a word imposed on aboriginal peoples by outsiders. It has long been considered a word to be avoided in Canada, where native people refer to themselves as Inuit, a word that means "people" in their language. But not all the native people who are referred to as Eskimos are Inuit. Eskimo has no exact synonym; it has a general meaning that encompasses a number of indigenous peoples, and it continues for now in widespread use in many parts of the English-speaking world.

Examples of Inuit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The most recent shows the interior entryway of that house; an umbrella jar holds several walking sticks and two ancient Inuit harpoons with whale-bone barbs; on the wall above them hangs a gleaming nineteenth-century harpoon gun. —Annie Proulx, The New Yorker, 30 June 2024

No matter what catches your eye, stick around for the evening concerts, which include Indigenous hip-hop ranging from Florida to Chile (Friday) and a contemporary take on traditional Inuit dance and music (Saturday). —Celia Wren, Washington Post, 27 June 2024

Most of Greenland’s residents are Inuit; their ancestors brought these dogs here from Alaska 1,000 years ago and used them to travel long distances across the Greenland Ice Sheet. —Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 12 June 2024

Most of the company's guides are members of the Inuit community, which still hunts narwhal, according to strict quotas. —The Week Uk, theweek, 28 Apr. 2024

In other words, the old saw that the Inuit people have 50 words for snow may be wildly exaggerated (the original observation by the anthropologist Franz Boas isolated only four ways of describing snow), but there is something to it. —Ross Perlin, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024

There’s a persistent cultural myth that some Inuit languages have a dozen, or fifty, or a hundred words for different kinds of snow. —Catherine Bray, Variety, 19 May 2024

About 1 in 500 people had active TB in 2021 in Nunavut, which is home to about 40,000 people, most of them Inuit. —Melody Schreiber, NPR, 2 May 2024

The Inuit describe the aurora as a pathway to the heavens. —Sophy Roberts, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Inuit inuit, plural of inuk person

First Known Use

1745, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Kids Definition

Inuit

noun

In·​u·​it ˈi-n(y)ü-wət 

variants also Innuit

1

plural Inuit or Inuits also Innuit or Innuits

a

: any of a number of groups of Indigenous peoples of northern Alaska, arctic Canada, and Greenland

—used especially of those of the Canadian Arctic and Greenland

b

: a member of such people

2

: any of the languages of the Inuit