nigger

UK: /ˈnɪgə^r/ US: /ˈnɪgɚ/ ,(nig′ər)

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

nig•ger /ˈnɪgɚ/   n. [countable] [Disparaging and Offensive.]

1. a black person.
2. a member of any dark-skinned people.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

nig•ger  (nig′ər), n. 

The term nigger is now probably the most offensive word in English. Its degree of offensiveness has increased markedly in recent years, although it has been used in a derogatory manner since at least the Revolutionary War. Definitions 1a, 1b, and 2 represent meanings that are deeply disparaging and are used when the speaker deliberately wishes to cause great offense. Definition 1a, however, is sometimes used among African-Americans in a neutral or familiar way. Definition 3 is not normally considered disparaging—as in "The Irish are the niggers of Europe'' from Roddy Doyle's The Commitments—but the other uses are considered contemptuous and hostile.
1. Slang Terms Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.
   • a black person.
   • a member of any dark-skinned people.
2. Slang Terms Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a person of any race or origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc.
3. a victim of prejudice similar to that suffered by blacks;
   a person who is economically, politically, or socially disenfranchised.

• Spanish negro black
• French nègre
• 1640–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

nigger / ˈnɪɡə/ noun

1. a Black person
2. (as modifier): nigger minstrels
3. a member of any dark-skinned race
4. nigger in the woodpile ⇒ a hidden snag or hindrance

Etymology: 18th Century: from C16 dialect neeger, from French nègre, from Spanish Negro¹USAGE
This highly offensive word is generally taboo, especially when used by White people, as are the compounds or derivatives to which it gave rise