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

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

Synonyms of non-native

• foreign

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

Officials are constantly challenged to find new ways to address these non-native plants, pests and other species that arrive and thrive. —Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 3 May 2026

Native plants require less fuss than non-native ones and offer more benefits to wildlife. —Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 1 May 2026

This decline has been made worse by non-native fish such as carp and tilapia that both outcompete axolotls for food and prey on their eggs. —Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 28 Apr. 2026

The Florida Museum of Natural History notes that the pythons have also introduced harmful non-native parasites to Florida and reduced medium-sized mammal populations by more than 90%, significantly changing the Everglades ecosystem. —Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for non-native

• creative
• locative
• nonnative
• probative
• rotative
• accommodative
• accumulative
• adjudicative
• administrative
• agglutinative
• ameliorative
• appreciative