hamza

American

[hahm-zah] / ˈhɑm zɑ /

noun

the sign used in Arabic writing to represent the glottal stop, usually written above another letter and shown in English transliterations as an apostrophe.

hamza British

/ ˈhɑːmzɑː, -zə /

noun

the sign used in Arabic to represent the glottal stop

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hamza

First recorded in 1935–40, hamza is from the Arabic word ḥamzah literally, a squeezing together

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.

After a moving introduction by “Monuments” co-curator and the Brick director Hamza Walker, Kara Walker took the stage.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

Hamza Imtiaz, an engineer at semiconductor design firm Semidynamics, acknowledged some awkwardness when it came to anchoring someone from the opposite gender but none when helping hoist the boss.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Hamza al-Afghani, a young Palestinian, spoke of an "indescribable joy".

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

Hamza, a delivery driver from Pakistan, says orders increased in the first few days of the war as more people stayed indoors.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

When the road is blocked with fallen masonry from a collapsed building, Hamza scrambles over the scorched bricks.

From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023