dreidel

noun drei·del \ ˈdrā-dᵊl \

variants: or less commonly dreidl

Definition of dreidel

1 : a 4-sided toy marked with Hebrew letters and spun like a top in a game of chance

2 : a children's game of chance played especially at Hanukkah with a dreidel

dreidel was our Word of the Day on 12/24/2016. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of dreidel from the Web

There were dancing pieces of gelt and, of course, a spinning dreidel dog.

— gil kaufman, Billboard, "Chanukah Gets Its Due on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' With Return of the Chanucorn," 15 Dec. 2017
Celebrate Hanukkah with eight days of edible specials, from chocolate dreidels to menorah cookies.

— usa today eats, USA TODAY, "Sweet ways to celebrate Hanukkah," 12 Dec. 2017
Judaism, to me, was spinning a dreidel one week out of the year and eating potato pancakes and mangling the Hanukkah blessing before getting on with the real holiday.

— santi elijah holley, Longreads, "Finding My Identity By the Light of My Mother’s Menorah," 13 Dec. 2017
Stuck to the glass were Christmas and Hanukkah decorations made of gummy material: fat Santas twirling around dreidels with snowflakes falling upon colorful boxed gifts.

— leslie gauthier, New York Times, "Shooing Carolers Away for a Love That Stays," 22 Dec. 2017
First there were holiday sweaters that had Christmas trees, Santa, or dreidels.

— lisa scottoline, Philly.com, "Happy holidays, and thanks for the mammaries | Lisa Scottoline," 22 Dec. 2017
Spin dreidel for good fun with old friends and new.

— luann gibbs, Cincinnati.com, "Last-chance holiday events in Cincinnati," 21 Dec. 2017
On Sunday, after a quick exchange of hellos, the Yildirim children tossed off their coats and immediately ran into a playroom, where Adin, now 10, schooled the others on the rules of a game of dreidel.

— vikki ortiz healy, chicagotribune.com, "Nearly a year after O'Hare photo went viral, Jewish and Muslim families form lasting friendship," 18 Dec. 2017
The aroma was intoxicating — braids of dough formed into challah bread and shortbread cookies with cutouts in the shapes of stars and dreidels baking in several ovens.

— meg jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Jewish bakery in Milwaukee teaches job skills to adults with special needs," 17 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dreidel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of dreidel

Origin and Etymology of dreidel

Yiddish dreydl, from dreyen to turn, from Middle High German drǣjen, from Old High German drāen — more at ¹throw

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1916

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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See words that rhyme with dreidel Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dreidel

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dreidel

Definition of dreidel

dreidel was our Word of the Day on 12/24/2016. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of dreidel from the Web

Illustration of dreidel

Origin and Etymology of dreidel

Learn More about dreidel

Seen and Heard

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dreidel

Definition of dreidel

dreidel was our Word of the Day on 12/24/2016. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of dreidel from the Web

Illustration of dreidel

Origin and Etymology of dreidel

Learn More about dreidel

Seen and Heard

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Love words? Need even more definitions?

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