Nigger is a racial slur directed at black people. References to nigger have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic "the N-word", notably in cases where nigger is mentioned but not directly used. [1]

When used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a Black person or a member of any dark-skinned race, the word ranks as almost certainly the most offensive and inflammatory racial slur in English, a …

USAGE: Considered to be the most offensive racial slur in American English today and therefore virtually taboo in most contexts. The term has been used by some speakers of Black English as a …

It is probable that nigger is a phonetic spelling of the White Southern mispronunciation of Negro. Regardless of its origins, by the early 1800s, it had firmly established itself as a derogatory name. In …

May 25, 2025 · The word “nigger” has a traceable linguistic history. It is widely understood to be a corrupted English pronunciation of the Spanish and Portuguese word negro, meaning black, which …

Nov 12, 2025 · Executive Summary The submissions collectively establish that the word at issue is a historically rooted racial slur with a long, contested etymology and ...

/ ˈnɪɡ.ɚ / uk / ˈnɪɡ.ə r/ an extremely offensive word for a Black person (Definition of nigger from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Definition of nigger noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Nigger is a racial slur used towards black people. It is often used by people who are called racists. [1]

Since then, the word “nigger” has been one of the most injurious and denigrating of racial slurs. It was conceived expressly for the purpose of insulting a black person and has accompanied the most …