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Irish

American

[ahy-rish] / ˈaɪ rɪʃ /

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of Ireland, its inhabitants, or their language.

noun

the inhabitants of Ireland and their descendants elsewhere.
the aboriginal Celtic-speaking people of Ireland.
Also called Irish Gaelic. the Celtic language of Ireland in its historical or modern form. Ir, Ir.
Irish English.
Irish whiskey.

idioms

get one's Irish up, to become angry or outraged.

Don't go getting your Irish up over a little matter like that.

Irish British

/ ˈaɪrɪʃ /

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of Ireland, its people, their Celtic language, or their dialect of English
informal ludicrous or illogical

"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

noun

(functioning as plural) the natives or inhabitants of Ireland
another name for Irish Gaelic

"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

Irish More Idioms

see luck of the devil (Irish).

Sensitivity

See Irish pennant.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of Irish

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English Yrisse, Iris(c)h; compare Old English Īras people of Ireland (cognate with Old Norse Īrar ); see -ish ¹

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.

See Examples For:

Irish

Appeared in the November 3, 2026, print edition as 'David Lean’s Intimate Irish Epic'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

The boom has extended across the Irish border, with Kenny's Bookshop in Galway reporting a tenfold increase in sales of Rooney's novels following Faber's decision.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Its position allows Doherty to order stock through Irish distributors before sending books to customers around the world, including in Britain.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

However, after taking over two seconds off O'Sullivan's Irish mile record in July, Mageean was named the 2023 BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

There were also a couple of Irish and English families and one Mexican.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

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