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

---

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

---

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.

---

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

He is in the early stages of building a center for AI at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Law, where he studied.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

The study was led by PhD student Idan Sheizaf under the supervision of Prof. Ariel Chipman at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

It also mean in Arabic, in Hebrew, home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

"There's a moment at the end of the song when I sing in Hebrew and it means, 'There's always someone listening'," he said.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

Ryan corrects his pronunciation of a couple of Hebrew words.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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

On June 1, the community celebrated New World Passover, a holiday marking the exodus from the United States of the Black Hebrews who came to Israel in the 1960s.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

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

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