Hebrew

American  

[hee-broo] / ˈhi bru /

noun

• Hebrews
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• non-Hebrew
  noun
• pre-Hebrew
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Hebrews
  plural

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Hebrew Hebrews

Moria Dahan, 35, an Israeli national living in West Hills, appeared shackled by the ankles, using a Hebrew interpreter and facing charges of making false statements on her naturalization application to become a U.S. citizen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

One of Holman’s best players, Moe Goldman, went straight from City College to the Philadelphia SPHAs, a professional team named for the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

He answers to the nickname "Bougie" -- reportedly given him by his Egyptian-born mother, who mixed the French word for doll "poupee" with its Hebrew equivalent "buba".

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

The word everyone here uses for this phenomenon is tkuma: Hebrew for rebirth or renaissance, with an added nuance, we’re told, of national revival, of a people rising again after having plummeted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

“One more. Its other name was Satis; which is Greek, or Latin, or Hebrew, or all three—or all one to me—for enough.”

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

I thought of Hebrews 13:2: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025

Tuesday is the first full day of Passover, the weeklong Jewish commemoration of the deliverance of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2024

Yet the Hebrew Bible shows that Hebrews were as terrified of existential uprootedness as Blaise Pascal or any Christian king.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2024

Months have dragged on without a decision from the Israeli authorities, leaving the undocumented Black Hebrews suspended between their homes in the Holy Land and what they see as exile.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

When he woke up, he repeated what little he could remember, a verse from Hebrews about Enoch: “Taken up so he should not see death; and he was not found.”

From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley

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