Abraham
Americannoun
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the first of the great Biblical patriarchs, father of Isaac, and traditional founder of the ancient Hebrew nation: considered by Muslims an ancestor of the Arab peoples through his son Ishmael.
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a first name: from a Hebrew word meaning “father of many.”
noun
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Old Testament the first of the patriarchs, the father of Isaac and the founder of the Hebrew people (Genesis 11–25)
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the place where the just repose after death (Luke 16:22)
Other Word Forms
- Abrahamic adjective
Etymology
Origin of Abraham
First recorded before 1000; from Late Latin, from Greek Abraám, from Hebrew ʾabhrāhām, traditionally translated as “father of many nations, father of multitudes,” equivalent to ʾabh “father” + hamon “multitude,” or a variant of ʾabhram “high father, exalted father,” equivalent to ʾabh “father” + ram “high, exalted”
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bush and its accompanying warships are deploying to the Middle East, joining the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike groups in the region.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Appeared in the March 31, 2026, print edition as 'The Abraham Accords Passed the Stress Test'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
Never mind the miracles — according to Scripture, Sarah lived to 127 years old, while Abraham was kicking up dust until he was 175.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
But as much as Sarah’s plight with infertility is relatable, other moments in the story took more work to get there, like the moment where Abraham talks with God.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026
In the same room on the same date in 1861, one hundred and four years earlier, President Abraham Lincoln had signed a bill freeing slaves impressed into the service of the Confederate army.
From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
