American facts for kids

American is a word with a few different meanings. Most often, it describes something or someone from the United States of America, often just called the United States.

• When we talk about Americans, we usually mean the people who are citizens of the United States.
• Sometimes, people say they have "American ancestry" to describe their family background.
• American English is the way people speak English in the United States. It's a bit different from English spoken in other countries.
• Native Americans in the United States are the original people who lived in the United States before Europeans arrived.

"American" can also refer to the entire Americas continent, which includes North America, Central America, and South America.

• The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the first people who lived across all these continents.

You might also hear "American" used in other ways, like to describe a specific word's history.

Organizations and Places

Many groups and places use "American" in their name:

• American Airlines is a large airline that flies planes all over the world.
• American University is a university located in Washington, D.C., where students go to learn after high school.
• American Recordings (record label) is a company that helps musicians record and sell their music.

Sports Teams

Lots of sports teams have "American" in their name, especially in the United States. This often shows where they are from or what league they play in.

• The Boston Red Sox baseball team was once known as the Boston Americans.
• The Brooklyn Nets basketball team was called the New York Americans and New Jersey Americans in the 1960s.
• The New York Americans was an ice hockey team that played from 1925 to 1942.
• The Rochester Americans is a minor league ice hockey team.
• The Tri-City Americans is a junior ice hockey team.

Vehicles

The word "American" has been used for different types of vehicles:

• Many car companies in the United States have used the name "American" for their cars, like the American Motors Corporation.
• The Rambler American was a popular car made by American Motors from 1958 to 1969.
• USS American is the name given to several ships in the United States Navy.
• 4-4-0 is a way to classify a type of railway locomotive (train engine) that was very common in the United States.

Music

"American" is also used in music:

• American is the name of a music album released by RuPaul in 2017.
• "American" is a song by the artist Fish Karma.
• "American (Lana Del Rey song)" is a song by Lana Del Rey from 2012.
• AmericanEP is a short music album by the English music group The Chemical Brothers.
• The American Quartet (Dvořák) is a famous piece of classical music written by Antonín Dvořák.

Other Uses

Here are some other interesting uses of the word:

• Americana refers to things that are related to the history, folklore, or culture of the United States. Think of old flags, folk art, or traditional music.
• American cheese is a type of processed cheese that is very popular in the United States.
• American McGee is a video game designer born in 1972, known for creating unique games.

See also

In Spanish: American para niños