hijab
Americannoun
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a traditional scarf worn by Muslim women to cover the hair and neck and sometimes the face.
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the traditional dress code of Muslim women, calling for the covering of the entire body except the face, hands, and feet.
to observe the hijab.
noun
Etymology
Origin of hijab
First recorded in 1885–90; from Arabic ḥijāb “veil, cover, curtain,” from ḥajaba “to cover”
Explanation
A hijab is a head covering scarf that some Muslim women wear in public. For many such women, the hijab signifies both modesty and privacy. In some cases, the hijab is worn by a woman when she's with men who aren't in her own family. For other Muslims, it's equally important to wear a hijab in the presence of non-Muslims, including women. Still other practicing Muslims choose not to wear a hijab at all. The word hijab is Persian, from the Arabic ḥajaba, or "veil."
Vocabulary lists containing hijab
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Youth activist Murooj Al-Nuwaysa, wearing a pink hijab, said she came with about 25 young men and women, carrying a bouquet of flowers with a card reading, "Our loss is one".
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
In comparison, a hijab is a headscarf that in the West most commonly covers the head and neck but leaves the face clear.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
It isn’t unusual to see hippy travelers, families in orthodox clothing and women in hijab on flights that also typically teem with kids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Ali wears a hijab while in the suit and uses a second person, usually a model or intern, to provide the bug’s feet — though she insists that those are the “bug’s feet.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Naheed wanted to bury her head, hijab and all, in the ground and hide.
From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
