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

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

See Examples For:

Hebrew Hebrews

Anthropologists have documented the Gogodala people of western Papua New Guinea singing Hebrew songs and hoisting the flag of Israel at tribal ceremonies.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Last October, as Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham was the local figurehead during the grim reality of an attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the city.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

When he was a seventh-grader in 1997, President Clinton visited the campus of Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, a Modern Orthodox K-8 school he attended in his hometown of Livingston, N.J.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

Though both were born in Germany, Arendt’s paperwork recorded her as Hebrew, while both were listed as stateless.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

One night a week she talked Eusie into giving Hebrew lessons, another night Meta taught Italian.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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

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

Over the decades, the Black Hebrews have made gradual inroads into Israeli society.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

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

He kept the Sabbath on Saturday, observed Passover and other important Jewish holidays, and belonged to a small neighborhood congregation, whose members called themselves Hebrews or Israelites.

From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman