Hebrew

American  

[hee-broo] / ˈhi bru /

noun

1. a member of the Semitic peoples inhabiting ancient Palestine and claiming descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; an Israelite.

2. a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic family, the language of the ancient Hebrews, which, although not in a vernacular use from 100 b.c. to the 20th century, was retained as the scholarly and liturgical language of Jews and is now the national language of Israel. Heb

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adjective

1. Hebraic.

2. noting or pertaining to the script developed from the Aramaic and early Hebraic alphabets, used since about the 3rd century b.c. for the writing of Hebrew, and later for Yiddish, Ladino, and other languages.

Hebrew British  

/ ˈhiːbruː /

noun

1. the ancient language of the Hebrews, revived as the official language of Israel. It belongs to the Canaanitic branch of the Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages

2. a member of an ancient Semitic people claiming descent from Abraham; an Israelite

3. archaic a Jew

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Hebrews or their language

2. archaic Jewish

Hebrew Cultural  

1. The language of the Hebrews, in which the Old Testament was written. It is the language of the modern state of Israel.

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Other Word Forms

• non-Hebrew
  noun
• pre-Hebrew
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Hebrew

before 1000; Middle English Hebreu, variant (with H- < Latin ) of Ebreu < Old French < Medieval Latin Ebrēus for Latin Hebraeus < Late Greek Hebraîos < Aramaic ʿIbhraij; replacing Old English Ebrēas (plural) < Medieval Latin Ebrēī

Example Sentences

Above the Torah ark in Ms. Wisse’s synagogue, an admonition is written in Hebrew: “Know before whom you stand.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Israel's Noam Bettan will perform "Michelle", a song in Hebrew, French and English.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

The Hebrew University in Jerusalem – where Sinclair works as a lecturer in Jewish education – has written a strongly-worded letter to the Israel police force.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

As a child in New Orleans, Nicholas Lemann never attended a bar mitzvah or heard Hebrew.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

When Ivan mumbled the words on the page as he followed along with his finger, Anya realized he wasn’t speaking Russian, or Hebrew, or any language she had ever heard of.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack