southerner

American  

[suhth-er-ner] / ˈsʌð ər nər /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of the south.

2. (initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of the southern U.S.

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Southerner British  

/ ˈsʌðənə /

noun

1. (sometimes not capital) a native or inhabitant of the south of any specified region, esp the South of England or the Southern states of the US

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Etymology

Origin of southerner

First recorded in 1820–30; southern + -er ¹

Example Sentences

A native southerner, Chelsey graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2014.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Yet he stood firm and loud in his defiance and the wind of multi-party change sweeping across Africa became a reality for President Biya, a southerner who had been in power since 1982.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2023

“This is what is emerging,” said Angelo Tofalo, himself a southerner and a leader in the party, as he cheered Mr. Conte, at a rally in Rome on Friday.

From New York Times • Sep. 25, 2022

And Blanche, a southerner, had confidence a lot of women never achieve.

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2022

Senate, learned this in 2002 after making a toast at a one hundredth birthday party for Strom Thurmond, his fellow senator and fellow southerner.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt