Native describes someone or something that belongs naturally to a particular place, having originated there rather than arriving from somewhere else. When you hear that someone is a native of Texas, it means they were born there. Plants and animals are also native to regions where they evolved naturally: many species of bees are native to Europe, while armadillos are native to the Americas.

The word carries a sense of deep connection to a place. Native species have adapted to their environment over thousands or millions of years. When gardeners plant native wildflowers, they're choosing plants that grew in that area long before people started gardening there. These plants typically thrive because they're suited to the local climate, soil, and wildlife.

You'll often see the word used to describe the original inhabitants of a region, especially when contrasting them with people who arrived later. Native Americans lived throughout North and South America for thousands of years before European explorers arrived. Similarly, Aboriginal peoples are native to Australia.

Your native language is the first language you learned as a child, the one that feels most natural to you. Someone might speak three languages but still think and dream in their native tongue.

The opposite of native is usually foreign, introduced, or invasive. When a non-native species arrives in a new place, it sometimes disrupts the ecosystem because local predators don't know how to control it.