North American refers to anything or anyone from the continent of North America. This vast landmass stretches from the Arctic Ocean in the north to where it meets South America in the south, and includes three large countries: Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

When someone describes an animal as North American, they mean it naturally lives on this continent. The bald eagle is a North American bird, while kangaroos are not (they're Australian). Black bears, bison, and monarch butterflies are all North American species. Plants can be North American too: sugar maples and sequoia trees are native to this continent.

People born in Canada, the United States, or Mexico are North Americans, though they usually identify more specifically as Canadian, American, or Mexican. The term is most useful when talking about things these countries share: North American geography, North American wildlife, or North American history.

The phrase sometimes appears in names of organizations or agreements that span the continent. It's a way of saying “involving countries on this continent.”

Note that geographers sometimes include the countries of Central America and the Caribbean islands as part of North America too, though others consider Central America its own region.