Irish

noun

ˈī-rish 

1

plural in construction : natives or inhabitants of Ireland or their descendants especially when of Celtic speech or culture

2

a

: the Celtic language of Ireland especially as used since the later medieval period

b

: English spoken by the Irish

3

: irish whiskey

Irish adjective

Examples of Irish in a Sentence

How many Irish are there in England?

Recent Examples on the Web

Noonan is out of contract at the end of the Irish League season, but Forest will need to pay training compensation for the player, who is expected to undergo a medical on Wednesday. — Paul Taylor, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Lowry won by 11 shots over Patrick Reed (64) and Joaquin Niemann (67), breaking the Irish Open record by one shot for the largest victory margin. — ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026

Polish, Irish, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Lithuanian and German immigrants moved there for work, bringing along their most treasured family recipes. — Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026

Trump International Golf Links is hosting the Irish Open, which kicked off Thursday. — Darlene Superville, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English *Īrisc, from Īras Irishmen, of Celtic origin; akin to Old Irish Ériu Ireland

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing Irish

• anti-Irish
• Irish bull
• Irish coffee
• Irish confetti
• Irish Gaelic
• Irish mail
• Irish moss
• Irish potato
• Irish setter
• Irish stew
• Irish terrier
• Irish water spaniel
• Irish whiskey
• Irish wolfhound
• Middle Irish
• Old Irish
• Scotch-Irish
• Scots-Irish

Kids Definition

Irish

noun

ˈī(ə)r-ish 

1

Irish plural : the people of Ireland

2

: the Celtic language of Ireland

Irish adjective