cree
n. C / Un. a member of a large group of Indigenous people living in North America, mostly in Canada. It also refers to the language they speak.
n. a member of a major North American First Nations people whose traditional territory spans from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast. When referring to the language, it describes a dialect continuum within the Algonquian family.
The Cree community hosted a traditional gathering.
Many Cree communities in northern Quebec continue to practice traditional hunting and fishing while managing modern local government.
The preservation of the Cree language is supported by a unique syllabic writing system that was developed in the nineteenth century and remains in use across several provinces today.
From a phonetic rendering of Canadian French Cris, short for Christinaux, from either Algonquin Kirishtinó, or Cree Kenisteniwuik.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The plural can be 'Cree' or 'Crees'; the singular form is often used as a collective noun or an attributive modifier.
Last updated May 11, 2026