netherlanders

IPA/nˈɛðələndəz/
IPA/nˈɛðɚləndɚz/

netherlanders — noun

1. people who come from the Netherlands or live there

1.nounC1
Definition

people who come from the Netherlands or live there

Example

Many Netherlanders cycle to work even in cold winter rain.

Netherlanders + plural verb

At the market in Delft, the Netherlanders chatted beside flower stalls.

the Netherlanders as a group

Common collocations
  • many Netherlanders
  • young Netherlanders
  • Netherlanders abroad
  • the Netherlanders
Synonyms
  • Dutch people

    the plain everyday phrase for people from the Netherlands

  • the Dutch

    much more common collective term when speaking about the group as a whole

Grammar Patterns

the Netherlanders

many Netherlanders

Netherlanders abroad

Usage Note

Rare and rather formal in present-day English. Everyday writing more often says the Dutch or Dutch people instead. Use Netherlander for one person.

Common Mistakes

She married a netherlanders from Utrecht.
She married a Netherlander from Utrecht.
the plural form cannot refer to one person, and the nationality noun is capitalized.
The netherlanders are famous for cycling.
The Netherlanders are famous for cycling.
this nationality noun is normally capitalized in English.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four expressions point to people from the Netherlands, but they differ in style and grammar. Netherlanders is the rarest and sounds formal, historical, or slightly literary in modern English. The Dutch is the common collective form when you mean the people as a whole, while Dutch people is the clearest everyday phrase in neutral writing. Netherlander is the singular noun for one person, so it helps when you need to describe an individual rather than a group. A news article might refer to Dutch people living abroad, but a more old-fashioned history book may speak of Netherlanders trading across Europe.

Netherlanders ↗the DutchDutch peopleNetherlander

Common collocations

Nouns

  • young Netherlanders
  • ordinary Netherlanders
  • Netherlanders abroad

Phrases

  • the Netherlanders
  • many Netherlanders

Prepositions

  • Netherlanders in
  • Netherlanders from

Etymology

English

Netherlanders is the plural of Netherlander, a word built from Netherlands and the ending -er for a person connected with a place. Netherlands itself reflects an older idea of low lands, referring to the country's flat land near sea level. English has long had this form, but in modern everyday use speakers usually choose Dutch or Dutch people instead.