Apache

noun

ə-ˈpa-chē 

in sense 3

ə-ˈpash 

plural Apache or Apaches ə-ˈpa-chēz 

-ˈpash,

-ˈpa-shəz

1

: a member of a group of Indigenous peoples of the southwestern U.S.

2

: any of the Athabascan languages of the Apache people

3

not capitalized [French, from Apache Apache Indian]

a

: a member of a gang of criminals especially in Paris

b

: ruffian

Apachean

ə-ˈpa-chē-ən 

adjective or noun

Examples of Apache in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Roadless Rule applies to more than 1 million acres across Arizona, including parts of the Prescott, Tonto, Kaibab, Coronado and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, according to the Environment Arizona Research and Policy Center, an advocacy group. —John Leos, AZCentral.com, 11 Sep. 2025

In 1981, James Reyos, a gay Apache man, was wrongly convicted of murdering a priest. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025

Although Perforce didn’t peddle its own agenda or message set in this discussion, the company competes in version control with Git, Atlassian Bitbucket Data Center, Apache Subversion and Mercurial to name a handful. —Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025

San Diego County had 2,760 small farms vs. nearly 3,300 in Apache County in Arizona. —Hang Nguyen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish, perhaps from Zuni ʔa·paču Navajo, Apachean

First Known Use

1703, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for Apache

• catchy
• patchy
• scratchy
• malachi

Kids Definition

Apache

noun

ə-ˈpach-ē 

plural Apache or Apaches

: a member of a group of Indigenous peoples of the southwestern U.S.

also : any of the languages of the Apache people