resident
Pluralresidents
Pluralresidents
- 1Someone, an animal, or a plant that lives in a certain place or area.
Like all the people who live on the same street as you.
Every resident of the building got a letter about the repairs.
The local residents complained about the noise from the new road.
UsageSay a resident of a place, or local residents.
Similarinhabitant, occupant, dweller, denizen, local
Note
- 2Living in a place, or working there regularly, for a long time.
The resident families have farmed these fields for many years.
We have a resident cat that sleeps in the shop window.
UsageUse it before a noun (a resident cat) or after one with in: people resident in the city.
Note
- 3A doctor who is training, usually in a hospital, to become a specialist.
Like a trainee cook who already works in the kitchen but is still learning from the head chef.
The resident checked on every patient before the surgeon arrived.
First-year residents often work very long hours at the hospital.
UsageSay a resident in a specialty at a hospital: a resident in surgery.
Note
Less common meanings
- 4A person who is legally allowed to live in a country permanently without being a citizen.
Like having a forever pass to live in a country, even if you were born somewhere else.
As a permanent resident, she can work anywhere in the country.
Many residents apply for citizenship after living here for five years.
UsageMost often in permanent resident, meaning not a citizen.
Note
- 5A bird that stays in the same area all year instead of flying away for winter.
Like a neighbor who never moves away, even when others leave for the winter.
The chickadee is a resident in many northern towns, staying put even in winter.
Unlike swallows, these residents stay put through the cold months.
Oppositemigrant
- 6Loaded into a computer's fast memory and ready to use right away.
Like keeping a book on your desk instead of walking to the library each time you need it.
The resident program responds instantly because it stays in memory.
Keeping the tool resident makes it open much faster.
Note
- 7A government's official who lives in another country, ranking below an ambassador.
Like a company manager sent to live in another city and watch over things there.
Britain sent a resident to the small kingdom to speak for its government.
Colonial residents often controlled local rulers from behind the scenes.
Note
- 8Fixed, steady, and not likely to change.
stable and resident like a rock
1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, “[XXVIII Sermons Preached at Golden Grove; Being for the Summer Half-year,.] ”Here, resident means fixed and steady, not likely to change.one there still resident as day and night
1651, William Davenant, GondibertHere, resident means fixed and steady, always staying the same.Note
- 9Alternative form of rezident. It names the spy chief who runs a secret intelligence station abroad.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Latin, from a word meaning 'to remain behind' or 'to sit back'. The doctor sense is used because in the 1800s such physicians lived in the hospital.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Resident ultimately comes from Latin. en.wiktionary.org
- The underlying Latin verb means to remain behind or sit back. sites.google.com
- The medical name reflects physicians living at hospitals in the nineteenth century. michiganmedicine.org