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Nair

American

[nahyer, nahy-er] / naɪər, ˈnaɪ ər /

Also Nayer

noun

plural

Nair, Nairs

a group of Hindu castes in the Kerala region of India.
a member of any one of these castes.

adjective

of or relating to this group of castes or their members.

Etymology

Origin of Nair

1580–85; < Portuguese naire < Malayalam nāyar members of ruling caste < Sanskrit nāya to lead

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.

And he didn’t exactly come from nowhere; he’s the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and is open about having been raised in privilege.

From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026

Glanville even tried using Nair, the hair-removal product, to fight the parasite.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

"The key innovation in the biosynthesis of tagatose was in finding the slime mold Gal1P enzyme and splicing it into our production bacteria," said Nair.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2026

His mother, filmmaker Mira Nair, is well-known there.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025

We were also joined by Billy Nair, a longtime member of the Natal Indian Congress, sentenced for sabotage as a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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