Hebrew

noun

He·​brew ˈhē-(ˌ)brü 

1

a

: the Semitic language of the ancient Hebrews

b

: any of various later forms of this language

2

: a member of or descendant from one of a group of northern Semitic peoples including the Israelites

especially : israelite

Hebrew adjective

Examples of Hebrew in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Preply advertises the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Urdu. —PC Magazine, 25 Aug. 2025

According to a study conducted by Agam Labs at the Hebrew University which measured sentiment about the new campaign among more than 300 people serving in the current war, 25.7% of reservists said their motivation had decreased significantly compared with the start of the campaign. —Emily Rose, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025

There have long been tales of cities instantaneously destroyed by some divine wrath, such as the angry Divinity of the Hebrew Scriptures raining sulfur upon Sodom and Gomorrah, but in Hiroshima humanity had finally apotheosized itself into the terrible position of God. —Ed Simon august 18, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2025

The 24 books comprising the entire Hebrew Bible cover a wide range of topics in history, law, poetry, wisdom, and theology. —Jonathan I. Shenkman, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Ebreu, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin Hebraeus, from Latin, adjective, from Greek Hebraios, from Aramaic ʽEbrai

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing Hebrew

• Late Hebrew
• Modern Hebrew
• Rabbinic Hebrew

Kids Definition

Hebrew

noun

He·​brew ˈhē-(ˌ)brü 

1

: a member of one of a group of northern Semitic peoples including the Israelites

especially : israelite

2

: the Semitic language of the Hebrews

Hebraic

hi-ˈbrā-ik

adjective

Hebrew adjective