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

Big players in the pipeline solution industry include Apache Kafka, Apache Airflow and cloud services like AWS and Azure. —Mohit Menghnani, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025

Supreme Court clears way for massive copper mine on Apache sacred land More to come, Michael Wilner — Was this newsletter forwarded to you? —Michael Wilner, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025

The Supreme Court on May 27 declined to get involved in a dispute about mining on land sacred to the San Carlos Apache Tribe, a case that religious groups backed to test the scope of a 1993 federal law protecting religious freedom. —Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 28 May 2025

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea from a group of Native American activists and supporters to block a copper mining company from destroying an Apache religious site. —Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 27 May 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