Bantu

UK: /ˌbænˈtuː/, /ˌbænˈtuː/ US: /ˈbæntu/ ,(ban′to̅o̅)

Inflections of 'Bantu' (n):

Bantus

npl

Bantu

npl (Can be used as a collective plural—e.g. "Bantu have inhabited these lands for generations.")

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

Ban•tu /ˈbæntu/   n., pl. -tus, -tu, adj. 
n. [countable]

1. a member of a group of black African people in southern and central Africa whose languages and cultures are interrelated.
2. a grouping of languages spoken by the Bantu.

adj. 
3. of or relating to the Bantu or to the group of languages spoken by them.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Ban•tu  (ban′to̅o̅), n., pl. -tus, (esp. collectively) -tu, adj. 
n. 

1. Language Varieties a member of any of several Negroid peoples forming a linguistically and in some respects culturally interrelated family in central and southern Africa.
2. Language Varieties a grouping of more than 500 languages of central and southern Africa, as Kikuyu, Swahili, Tswana, and Zulu, all related within a subbranch of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Kordofanian family.

adj. 

3. Language Varieties of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Bantu or the Bantu peoples.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Bantu / ˈbɑːntʊ ˈbæntuː bænˈtuː/ noun

1. a group of languages of Africa, including most of the principal languages spoken from the equator to the Cape of Good Hope, but excluding the Khoisan family: now generally regarded as part of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family
2. ( -tu, -tus) a Black speaker of a Bantu language

adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or belonging to this group of languages

Etymology: 19th Century: from Bantu Ba-ntu peopleUSAGE
Use of the term Bantu is only acceptable outside South Africa and when talking about this group of languages and their speakers. To refer to African people or peoples, the terms Black and African are acceptable within South Africa